Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts
by Avonnalay-Ariemay
Summary: Sequel to Wolf's Bane. Things are a mess after Harry's 5th year. Dumbledore decides to call in an Auror to teach DADA. Only the question remains, are Snape & Remus ready to handle the results of their actions from sixteen years before? :On Hiatus for now:
1. Default Chapter

_**Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. I'm not making any money off of this, just writing it for the fun of it. So don't sue.**_

_**A/N - Hello again, wonderful world of Harry Potter fans. I'm finally back, and this time with my sequel to Wolf's Bane. If you are going to read this story, I suggest you go read Wolf's Bane first, or else things are going to make absolutely NO sense whatsoever. Just a warning. ;)**_

_**To the rest of you who read the first installment, I implore you to give this one a try. Once again, our dearly beloved werewolf takes center stage, but this time it is during Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. **_

_**So, cheers to all. And I hope you enjoy.**_

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_**Wolf's Bane: The Return to Hogwarts**_

_**Chapter One**_

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_'''Harry nodded. he somehow couldn not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station towards the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.''' -JK Rowling, excerpt from Order of the Phoenix_

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It had taken roughly another half hour or so before all of the Hogwarts students had been collected by their anxious parents. When the members of the Order were sure none of the children remained in King's Cross, and Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George had been sent off to the Burrow per Molly Weasley's orders, they quickly and inconspicously dropped back through the brick barrier that led to Platform 9 3/4, and then Apparated to a small alleyway within walking distance of the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters in London, 12 Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore had asked their group to escort Harry to the relative safety of his Aunt and Uncle, then meet at headquarters for an emergency meeting between the core members of the resistence group. It was obvious to anyone that Sirius' recent death was still in the forefront of the member's mind. And it was most evident by the grim expressions on Tonk's and Remus' faces when they entered into the old house that the now deceased man had been confined to up until Voldemort had flushed him out a few days ago.

Minerva McGonagall met them at the doorway and quietly informed them that everyone was gathered in the kitchen, awaiting their arrival to start the meeting. Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and Tonks followed a tight lipped McGonagall into the kitchen where Bill and Charlie Weasley were seated, along with the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore. McGonagall took her plaec in the cheir to the left of the wizened man and nodded to the newcomers.

"Everything go well at King's Cross, Mad-Eye?" Dumbledore asked as the newcomers settled themselves in and Molly scrounged up some food and drinks for the group. "No trouble I hope?"

"Nothing out of the usual." Moody answered gruffly. "Other than the ruckus from Narcissa Malfoy and the Crabbe and Goyle matriarchs when they found their prat sons stuck in the baggage rack, oozing slime and looking like one of Hagrid's distorted cross-bred creatures."

"Once again, we see Harry's D.A. sessions put to a good, practical use." Tonks commented, crossing her arms irratibly and leaning her chair back onto two legs.

"What was it you wanted to discuss with us, Albus?" Lupin asked, turning his attention to the man at the head of the table. It was hard enough having to come back to the house, knowing that his best friend was gone, and he wanted to get out of it as quickly as possible.

"A number of things have been brought to my attention. As you well know, the school is in need of a teacher for the upcoming year. I would prefer to have someone of m own choice in the position, but I find myself sorely lacking in suitable candidates. And as I, as well as you, do not want another incompetent Ministry official like Dolores Umbridge teaching the students, I was curious as to whether or not any of you had any plausible suggestions?" Dumbledore said, steepling his fingers in front of him and sitting back in his chair.

Numerous names were suggested, and McGonagall jotted them down on a piece of parchment. As the assembled group went over the list of ten or so odd candidates one by one, a particular name seemed to strike a chord with the eldest Weasley male.

"I've heard of this Dr. Mikayla Lee before." Arthur said, trying to remember why the name stuck out in his mind. "She's a British born Auror from the Department of Magic in North America. One of their finest from what I've heard before. Where did you meet her, Bill?"

The eldest of the Weasley brood pushed his long hair out of his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. He had requested a transfer to Gringotts in Diagon Alley from Egypt the year before, along with his brother Charlie from Romania, and both had been lucky enough for the transfers to be granted. Now, the two eldest Weasley's worked jobs in the London and surrounding areas, and still worked with the Order when they could.

"Met her in Egypt, actually." Bill answered, scratching his chin. "We had cracked into one of the tombs and our guys kept dropping like flies. Come to find out, it wasn't a curse, but some kind of vapor in the air that was coming from some pits that had been dug underneath the treasure chambers. Dr. Lee was in the area investigating some rumored attacks on the American Magical Embassy and was called in to give her opinion. When she came out, she had a look at the passed out workers, and asked to see the tomb. After a couple of minutes, she talked to the boss and said she'd be back in a few hours with something to help, and to keep the tomb shut and everyone out of it until she got back."

"And?" Tonks asked, her curiosity of the woman obviously peaked.

"And about two or three house later, she came back with a half dozen or so cauldrons worth of some kind of nasty litte concoction. She walks over to the tomb opening and throws them in, saying we should be able to go in withough iny incident in a half hour or so after the potioin neutralizes the vapors and the liquid at the bottom of the tomb."

"Smart woman." Moody grumbled.

"What else did you find out about her?" Charlie asked his brother.

"She hung around and I talked to her for a while. Smart lady, she was. Well versed in Defense and even better in Potions. Hell, her Charms work wasn't half bad either. Taught me how to check and see if the vapors would be present in any of the other chambers before going into them with a quick little incantation. She impressed me at any rate, added bonus when I found out she was originally from England. Do you remember anyone by that name from Hogwarts, dad? She couldn't be much younger than you and mom."

"I'm afraid not." Molly Weasley answered after a few moments. "The name doesn't ring any bells. What about you, Remus?"

"No." the werewolf answered. "No clue. Maybe she went to school in France."

"Interesting, indeed." Dumbledore mused. "Can you get us more information on this young woman, Bill?"

"I'll see what I can dig up." Bill said. "I've still got some contacts left at the Department of Magic in the U.S. from the last job I had there. They might be of some use. But I wouldn't exactly call her young. She had her daughter with her, and the girl was not too far from Ron and Harry's age I'd wager."

"I see." Dumbledore said. "Find what you can, Mr. Weasley, and get it to me as soon as possible. If your lady friend is indeed British, we may count her as a suitable candidate for the teaching position, since she is more than likely wary of the happenings of our homeland at the current time."

Bill nodded again and the group continued to contemplate the choices of an instructor until there were three possible candidates left, one a retired Auror, and the other a retired Defense professor from Beauxbatons. By that time Dumbledore seemed ready to move to another subject. "We seem to have another immediate problem at our doors."

"Which would be?" Arthur pressed.

"It seems as though the Ministry has decided that with Sirius' untimley death, ownership of 12 Grimmauld Place is to be passed to his next of kin, Narcissa Malfoy."

"What!" Tonks yelled, standing so quickly that she knocked her chair over backwards, the fury evident in her dark eyes. The racket seemed to set of Mrs. Black's portrait in the hallway, and Bill and Charlie took out to calm and quiet the wailing portrait down.

_"BLOOD TRAITORS!!!! HOW DARE YOU ENTER INTO MY NOBLE HOUSE AND TAINT OUR HOME WITH YOUR PRESENCE!!!!"_

"Calm yourself, Tonks." Lupin said in a carefully controlled voice, as he placed a restraining hand on the younger girl's arm. "You knew there was a possibility this would happen." The man seemed more tense than ever, and he winced as Mrs. Blacks protests grew louder and more crude.

"GET OUT!!! ABOMINATIONS!!! TRAITORS TO THE OLD WAYS!!!!"

"The Malfoy's do not need another hunk of property!" the young Auror growled over the portrait's ranting and raving. "As his godson, Harry was Sirius' rightful heir! This place should belong to him now! Not the Malfoy prats!"

"FREAKS!!! SCUM OF OUR WORLD!!! BEGONE WITH YOU!!!"

"I highly doubt young Harry would want to lay claim to this house as his own." McGonagall pointed out calmly, seemingly not bothered by Mrs. Black's yelling and cursing.

"Not exactly the best of location anyway." Moody grunted, his magical eye rolling around and taking in the large kitchen, and undoubtedly beyond the wall to see Bill and Charlie's attempts to shut the woman up. "Don't blame the bloke."

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!! BLOOD TRAITORS!!!"

"Didn't Sirius change his will to give everything to Harry should anything...untoward...happen to him?" Molly questioned quietly, looking to Dumbledore for answeres. "He assured me that he had taken care of it."

"I seems as though there has been a jumble of paperwork at the Ministry." Dumbledore said dryly. "I received word earlier that until the problem has been solved, all of Sirius' assets, both monetary and corpeal, were being transferred to Narcissa Malfoy and her husband, Lucius."

"Who is currently rotting in Azkaban." Charlie said with contempt as he and Bill came back into the kitchen after successfully getting the portrait of Mrs. Black to shut up. "About bloody time, I'd say."

"Here, here." Moody agreed.

"What are we going to do for a headquarters?" Lupin asked, rubbing his temples in weariment.

"Can't we fight the Ministry ruling for Harry's rights to the place?" Tonks asked, somewhat calmer now. "I don't like this hole in the wall anymore than the rest of us, but it has served its purpose so far."

"I'm afraid until such a time that the elusive papers are be found, and the requested changes made, we are helpless to do anything."

"At this point, the Ministry is still in chaos." McGonagall said tersely.

"It wouldn't surprise me if we see Fudge booted out soon from his position as Minister." Charlie said dryly. "I hear word of a vote of No Confidence going through tomorrow at the Ministry meeting. If that's the case, Fudge is out, and there is no telling who his replacement is going to be."

"Well, they can't be much worse that their predecessor, now can they?" Tonks said snappily.

"We could always meet at the Burrow, Albus." Molly Weasley said, diffusing any more argumentative streaks that were threatening to come out.. "At least temporarily, given we put some Protection charms around the surrounding area."

"That is a kind offer, Molly, and we may be forced to take you up on that." McGonagall said wearliy. "Should we not be capable of finding a proper place for our meetings."

"Whatever we have is at your disposal, Albus." Arthur Weasley added. And so the meeting closed a little while later. The Weasley's, minus Bill, took off for the Burrow while Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin returned to Hogwarts, and Tonks returned to the chaotic uproar that was the Ministry of Magic. Bill, meanwhile, went to Gringott's to see if he could dig up anymore information on Dr. Mikayla Lee, Auror and Potions Expert.

Later on that evening, after Dumbledore had received a number of thick packets containing information about each of the three likely Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching candidates, the headmaster pulled out the information Bill Weasley had procured about Dr. Mikayla Lee. As he spread the page after page of the file, he took a deep breath and shook his head sadly.

He knew this young woman well, as she had been a student of his only sixteen years before at Hogwarts, only under a different name of Sable Robbins. A name that the old wizard was sure some members of the Order would recognize, especially Remus Lupin and Severus Snape. Tales of the attack in which she had disappeared were still told, even today. But Albus was one of the only people who knew the truth behind the young woman's sudden disappearance, with no evidence of her whereabouts to be found afterwards.

He picked up a paper to his right and looked at it carefully. The photograph was that of a thirty-four year old woman, dressed in the robes of an Auror of the American Department. She was smiling faintly, and Dumbledore could see the light streaks of premature white or grey running through her hair, mixing with the darkness of the rest, a result of her bloodline as a _ranula_, or natural born werewolf.

Below that portrait were three others, one young woman and two young men, all three aged sixteen, all smiling, grinning, or smirking at the cameraman. The young girl was a carbon copy of her mother, down to the last dimple on her face. The young men, although brothers, looked very little alike. Although the resemblence to the boys fathers were uncanny.

"After all these years of hiding, Ms. Robbins, it is time to call you back home." he shuffled the papers into a stack and replaced them in the large envelope before placing them on the corner of his desk. "I promised to try and keep you out of this for as long as I possibly could, my dear. Unfortunately, I find myself in need of your assistance. Merlin help us all, but we need all the help we can get right now."

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_**A/N - Well, I hope you guys like the beginning. More is on its way, although I'm not too sure how quickly I'll be getting the chapters out. I'm facing a bout of writer's block with my other stories, so it could take a while.**_

_**This is just kind of a feeler chapter to see how the response to it is going to be. Love you lots!**_

_**Later,**_

_**A.A. **_

_**12/1/2005**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. The only characters I own are Sable and her children, other than that, the rest belong to Rowling._

_A/N - Special thanks to **wolvesaremylife1, Lothliana, **and **anubis04** for taking the time to review. Hopefully this chapter will be a bit more thorough. Later, A.A._

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_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 2_

_The Past Returns _

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Harry sat on the edge of his bed, his window open to let the breeze blow in, and three different letters sitting beside him on the bed. He'd been back at Privett Drive for a couple of days, and been receiving letters from Ron, Hermion, and Remus everyday, or in Remus' case, every other day. He picked up one, noticing the messy scrawl across the paper and quickly pinned it to his best friend Ron Weasley. He opened it and sat back on his bed to read it.

_**Harry,**_

_**How's the muggles treating you? Mum says that she's going to give your aunt an ear full if they aren't taking care of you.**_

Harry laughed at the image of the fiery tempered Mrs. Weasley jumping on Aunt Petunia for not taking care of him, and making sure he ate enough, and finished his homework.

_**Well mate, I've got some good news and some bad news. Good news is, Dumbledore's found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Apparently she's some Auror, not sure of much else. Bill won't tell me anything else. Only thing I do know is she's a potions expert, like Snape. I expect they'll get along just fine. She's probably just as sour tempered and unfair as that greasy haired git! Probably just as ugly too!**_

Well, this was expected news. He knew Dumbledore would have to find another person to fill the vacated position. But he was surprised to find out that the headmaster had chosen so quickly.

_**That's the good news. And here's the bad. Did you know that Hermione has been writing to Krum again? AND THAT HE'S INVITED HER TO STAY WITH HIM IN BLOODY BULGARIA FOR A WEEK DURING CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS! **_

_**What are we going to do? Hermione doesn't need to be spending anymore time with him. It's bad enough she writes him letters long enough to be considered books! What do they talk about, anyway? It's not like......**_

Harry rolled his eyes at the outrage he could feel coming off of the parchment at Ron's rant, skipping over the two and a half paragraph rant about how Hermione had not business with Krum. Any time Hermione and Bulgarian young man were mentioned in the same sentence, Ron's temper would blow, often making him look like Mount Vesuvius right before it blew. Harry's fleeting suspicions that Ron fancied Hermione were starting to become more solidified as time went on.

_**Oiy, got to go, mum's calling us down for dinner. Take care, and I'll see you soon.**_

_**Ron W.**_

_**P.S. Oh, and Ginny says to tell you hello.**_

But how soon was soon? He wanted to get out of Privett Drive, and soon. His aunt and uncle were still as cold to him as ever, but they seemed to be more cautious around him now. Although it did make him feel better when Dudley would back away from him, a great amount of fear in his piggy eyes anytime Harry walked into the room.

He picked up the next letter, recognizing Hermione's neat, evenly spaced script immediately; which was most likely due to the fact that he'd copied her work on more than one occasion in the past.

_**Dear Harry,**_

_**How are you doing? Is your aunt and uncle treting you okay? I hope everything is going well.**_

_'Well, it's good to know that they're concerned.'_ Harry thought dryly.

_**Have you received a letter from Remus, yet? I have, and I'm happy to say that it seems like you'll be away from your aunt and uncle soon, but I won't say anymore.**_

_'What's Hermione doing, getting a letter from Remus?'_ Harry thought, shaking his head. _'And why won't they just tell me how long it is before I get to leave?'_

_**I'm relatively sure that Ronald has already told you about what the Ministry is doing to Sirius' house, so I won't go into that. It really is horrid. I wonder where Dumbledore plans on doing about it. **_

Harry shook his head in confusion. Something was happening to Sirius' house? Well, that was no big loss to him, but it would put Dumbledore in a bind with the Order. And, he noticed, Hermione called Ron by his full name, Ronald. _'They must have been fighting about something again.'_ he mused. _'Probably has to do with Krum.'_

_**I'm also relatively sure that Ronald as told you about the new DADA professor. From what I can gather from everyone, mind you I'm at my home and not at the Burrow, her name is Dr. Lee, and she is an Auror from the American Department of Magic, but she was originally from England. She also has her doctoral degree in Potions. I wonder if she is anything like Snape? Remus told me all that he could, but it still isn't a lot to go on. I hope she still lets us have D.A. meetings.**_

_'So that's what she was doing, writing to Remus.'_ he thought with a grin. _'She was grilling him for information. How Hermione-like.'_

_**Well, I hope this letter finds you well, Harry, and I will be seeing you soon.**_

_**All my love,**_

_**Hermione.**_

Harry folded up the letter and slipped it back into the envelope, his annoyance increasing the more the read. He picked up Remus ' letter and opened it, hoping to gain some more insight into what was going on in the wizarding world.

_**Harry,**_

_**How are things? I hope your aunt and uncle are treating you well. **_

_**Needless to say, our world is in chaos at the moment. The Ministry is in an uproar about Fudge. I have a strong suspicion that we will soon be answereing to a new Minister of Magic. Apparently a vote of 'no confidence' has been rumored, but there are no definitive facts yet. I will be sure to keep you updated. By the time this letter reaches you, we should know if Fudge will be removed from his position or whatnot. **_

_'Getting rid of Fudge, huh?' _Harry thought with a grin. _'Bet Percy is having cows over that one.'_

_**On to more pleasant new, Dumbledore has found a new professor for DADA. I am to meet her tomorrow, along with Albus and Bill Weasley. We were all quite concerned that the Ministry would try to instill another Umbridge into the school, but thankfully these bumbling idiots are furthermore occupied at the moment. Dumbledore says that he knows this woman very well, and that she will be a large help to our cause.**_

Harry noted that Remus did not sound all to enthused about the impending meeting. That did not sit well with the way things were going, especially if Remus was getting annoyed or loosing faith.

_**Unfortunately, I feel that I must burden you with a note of bad news. It seems that Sirius' house will be transferred to the Malfoys, or more accurately, Narcissa Malfoy, seeing as how Lucius is presently indisposed of. **_

Harry re-read the line again, just to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. They were giving 12 Grimmauld Place to the bloody _Malfoys? _His anger began to rise again, but it subsided when he remembered that Narcissa was actually one of Sirius' many cousins. And since Bellatrix was on the run, Narcissa was the only one who would be legally able to take the place.

_**We are currently stationed elsewhere until better accomodations can be arranged. Dumbledore is trying to fight the order from the Ministry to give the house to Narcissa Malfoy, saying that as Sirius' heir, you should inherit the place, but the recent development involving Voldemort has overshadowed things. Add that along with the fact that the paperwork that consisted of Sirius' changes to his will have suddenly come up missing, and you can see exactly how this problem is no where from rectifying itself.**_

_'I don't want that house.' _he thought angrily. _'But Dumbledore needs it for the Order meetings. If they are kicked out, we'll loose Order headquarters.'_

_**Because of the incident in the Ministry a few weeks ago, we are going to gather you and Hermione and bring you back here in order to ensure your safety. I will keep you updated, although I doubt you will need it, considering your stay with the Dursley's will be over shortly. **_

_Makes sense.'_ Harry thought. If they stayed with their families in the muggle world, they would run the risk of being attacked by someone or something. And he'd had enough of summertime attacks last year with the dementors.

_**Hang in there, and you will be out of that house soon enough.**_

_**Remus. **_

Harry placed the letters on his night stand and fell back limply on his bed. From what he could gather, things were a complete mess in the wizarding world. The uproar caused by the sighting of Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic had overshadowed everything.

He was knocked out of his silent musings when he hard the loud noise coming fro dudley's bedroom across the hall. His corpulent cousin had gotten a new video game of some sort and was happily blowing buildings to smithereens and gunning down innocent victims at the moment, of that Harry had no doubt.

The messy haired boy groaned and pulled himself up from the bed, bored out of his mind and not entirely sure of what he could to to alleviate the problem. He spied his trunk in the corner, knowing he had a great deal of summer homework to complete, especially from Snape and McGonagall. He really ddin't feel like doing it, and knew that if he and Hermione were to be collected from their homes soon, then he could get her to help him. He was fairly sure Ron hd not began his either, nor Ron's little sister Ginny.

So, with a frown, Harry left his room and went down the stairs, intending on going for a walk around the neighborhood, only to run headlong into his horse-faced Aunt Petunia at the bottom of the stairs.

"What are you doing, boy?" she snapped, glaring at him suspiciously.

"Going for a walk." he answered simply. His aunt regarded him for a moment longer before turning around and walking into the kitchen where Harry could hear his uncle sitting, complaining about the news on the television. He shrugged, then walked towards the door, but stopped when he noticed an envelope tht had been left on the floor by the door. He picked it up, recognizing the faded brown envelope and green handwriting on the front as that of Dumbledore. Skimming over the address, he was surprised to find it addressed not to himself, but to his Aunt Petunia.

_'What do they want from her?' _he thought, turning to enter the kitchen, his walk around the block utterly forgotten.

"What do you want, boy?" Vernon Dursley barked, casting his eyes towards Harry and frowning.

"You got a letter." he said, turning to his aunt. "It's from Dumbledore." His aunt paled considerably and snatched the letter from his outstretched hand, quickly ripping it open and reading the contents.

"What is it, Petunia?" Vernon asked, coming to his wife's side and trying to read the letter, only to see a jumble and mix of words and phrases in front of him. "What is this rubbish? It's nothing more than some babble." The large man turned to Harry and glared even harder. "What sort of trick is this?"

"The letter isn't addressed to you, so you can't read it." Harry pointed out. "I couldn't read it if I tried to, either."

"So you've been digging through our post?" Vernon fumed. "How dare you, you ungrateful brat?! I will not have something going on in my own house that I am not aware of!!" Vernon Dursley took the letter from Petunia's hands and thrust it into Harry's face. "Fix it, boy! I want to know what is going on at the freak show you call a school! I have every right to know!"

"Sorry, I can't." Harry said, shaking his head. "Can't do magic out of school."

"Bloody hell you can't!"

"Leave him alone, Vernon." Petunia said quietly. "He can't do anything about it." Harry looked over at his aunt's drawn face and the disbelief on his uncle's face.

"Petunia?" Vernon Dursley questioned. "You're pale, my dear. And you're shaking."

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, handing the letter back to her. "Are you okay?" Petunia looked over at Harry and shook her head.

"When were you going to tell me about your god-father, Harry?" she asked, looking at him with disbelief. Harry stiffened up imediately at the mention of Sirius, and squared his shoulders, fighting back the incredible sense of loss that overcame him everytime Sirius' name was mentioned.

"I wasn't." Harry said stiffly. "You didn't need to know, and you don't care anyways, so I saw no point in telling you."

"The boy has a god-father?" Vernon asked, disbelief in his voice. Harry had tried to tell them about Sirius at the end of his third year, but his aunt and uncle had turned a deaf ear to him, thinking him out of his mind. "Wonderful, now we can get rid of him once and for all. Where does the man live, Petunia?"

"Harry's not going anywhere, Vernon." Petunia said simply, turning to her husband.

"But..."

"Quiet, Vernon." she said sharply. She turned back to Harry and took a deep breath. "He's gone?"

"Yes."

"I see." Petunia said, folding up the letter and placing it back in the envelope. "I would not unpack my things if I were you. You will be leaving here within the next week or so to go with Dumbledore."

"I'm leaving this early?" Harry asked, confusion on his face. He wanted to know what was in that letter, wanted to know what was on it that had gotten his aunt so worked up and scared. And he also wanted to know why his aunt had hidden her knowledge of the magical world away from everyone else for so long.

"If you want to question it, then go send a letter to your teacher!" Petunia snapped impatiently. "I'm just relaying a message."

"Did you want anything else?" Harry asked sullenly. "What else did the letter say?"

"Nothing that concerns you." she snapped. "Now go."

"Fine." he said, turning and leaving the kitchen to march back up the stairs, past Dudley's room where the sounds of a war game were bouncing off the walls, and into his room. He flung open his trunk and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, bent on finding out from Remus what was going on, and why his aunt was suddenly getting letters from headmaster Dumbledore.

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Meanwhile....

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_"....sneaky little bitch!"_

_"She's nothing more than some half-human tramp." came a snide voice from behind where she was on the floor, kneeling before two black cowled figures. Behind her, she heard the arrival of yet another Death Eater, who joined the semi-circle around her. One of them reached out, and grabbed her by her hair, yanking hard and pulling her to her feet._

_"Why our Lord wants such a pitiful creature, I still wonder." came another voice as someone else backhanded her across her face. She had been cuffed once again and brought to this room to begin her 'instructional time', and now she was laying on the cold stone floors with blood slowly trickling down her mouth. She managed to pull herself onto her hands and knees, and glare up at the men as best she could through the cloud of pain that was quickly overwhelming her mind._

_"She's worthless!" grolwed another, delivering a swift kick to her ribs, causing her to drop to the floor again, grimacing in pain and fighting back tears of hurt."_

_"What's wrong, you mongrel?" questioned a sneering voice that she immediately recognized as Cody Flint. "Have you finally lost your ability to open your mouth?"_

_"No, I haven't." she ground out, glaring up at the now unhooded young man before her as best she could. "I don't speak to people who aren't worth my time." A blow to her lower back kept her face down on the ground and caused her to cry out when the perpatratior dug the heel of their boot into her back._

_"Not worth your time, you say?" asked the first man, disbelief coloring his voice at her obvious hatred of them. "Well, I think it is time to make us worth your time."_

_"Unless you want to find yourself at our Lord's feet with the Cruciatus on your head, I suggest you leave the half blooded mongrel alone." came a voice she was never more terrified, and at the same time, relieved to hear. The newest Death Eater came towards the group, and the others pulled away as he reached down and roughly pulled her up. She stilled herself for another blow, knowing somewhere in her heart that this young man had more of a reason to hate her than all the others combined._

_"Why do you care, Snape?" came the second man's suspicious voice. "She's just a born mongrel."_

_"Of that I am very much awayre, Goyle." Snape growled out, pulling his hood down to glare at one of the numerous men surrounding them. "But our Lord wishes to keep her alive for the time being."_

_"You're going to be lucky if he doesn't kill you for manhandling her." came an aristocratic voice from the doorway. Her eyes shot over to the entrance, seeing glints of golden hair escaping the hood of the cloak the man wore. "He did say to keep her unharmed."_

_"Careful, Lucius, you actually may start sounding as if you care." came some disembodied voice._

_"If it was left up to me," Lucius said disgustedly. "such abominations like this woman would be eradicated, right along with the muggles that infest our world."_

_"Well, it's a good thing you're not in charge then, huh?" she asked. Lucius only sneered and waved his hand, dismissing the others who had gathered._

_"Such an audacious young thing." the blond man said. "I'm sure Severus is quite happy our Lord has gifted him with your instructional learning." He reached into his cloak, and pulled out his wand, quickly healing her various cuts and bruises that the other Death Eaters had given her. "Much better, don't you think, Severus?"_

_"My opinion has no place in this." Snape said coldly, watching the older man closely._

_"She is quite a pretty little thing, isn't she, though?" the blond man said. "Especially to be such a little mongrel." Lucius extended his hand to cup her cheek and she jerked back, all but growling at him in defense._

_"Get away from me." she barked._

_"Such spirit, even when chained." Lucius smirked, nodding towards the manacles that bound her wrists and ankles. "I would enjoy breaking you down to serve our distinguished Lord and Master."_

_"Unfortunately, you were not." Snape said, interrupting the blond's hand as it once again made for her face. He pulled the shackled, forcing her to fall back a few steps to keep from falling..and consequently keeping her away from Lucius. Snape quickly fastened the ends of the manacles to a set of rings that were protrucing from the wall._

_"Clearly." Lucius said. "I shall leave you to your instruction then, Severus. Flint will return to collect her in a few hours."_

_"Understood." _

_"Have fun, my dear." Lucius said. "Severus has been trying to isolate you for quite a while, so I'm sure he will make the most of your time together."_

_"Bastard." she said through clenched teeth._

_"There will be a guard posted outside in case you need some assistance, Severus." Lucius smirked, walking towards the door. "This room will be under surveillance to insure that you do nothing we have not already discussed as far as teaching methods go." She looked up and, caught the evil grin that was on the blond's face before he turned and left, shutting the heavy wooden door behind him. The sound of metal on metal told her that the latch had been put into place. _

_She was stuck._

_"You?" she asked with barely concealed anger as Snape pulled off his cloak and threw it to a nearby corner._

_"Yes, me." he said, advancing on her menacingly. "It's me. And you're about to find out why it was such a bad idea to align yourself with the weak side of the school." She had every intention of fighting her way out of the cell, and if it meant killing Snape, then she was more than ready to do it. But her mind turned to Remus, who was still in the cell below them on another floor, and her plan halted in mid-formation. If she fought, they would hurt him. Voldemort had already murdered her parents, and she did not want her own boyfriend's blood on her hands. _

_She tried seperating her mind from her body, tried to ignore what was happening to her. She tried to gather her anger up towards the man who was violating her in the worst possible way. And she had almost convinced herself that Severus Snape was the devil incarnate, the lowest possible scum of the Earth, and that the fires of hell would never burn him enough to satisfy her....until he drew her close enough and murmured into her ear._

_"I am sorry." he said hoarsely. "I am truly sorry."_

Sable Robbins sat up from her bed in a cold sweat, her pulse racing and her body shaking violently from the dream she had woken from. When she had calmed down sufficiently and gotten her breathing back to normal, the images of that fateful night a little over sixteen years before flashed through her head as if she had never woken from the nightmare. The covers of her bed slipped around her as she stood and walked over to the large windows that composed the farthest side of her bedroom, pulling on a robe and trying to compose herself after once again enduring that awful dream that so often plagued her in the dead of night.

It had been almost sixteen and a half years since that night that had been haunting her dreams for so long. Sixteen and a half long and very painful years. Sable shook her head, trying to forget the memories that threatened to spill over, only to have her eyes settle on the pices of folded parchment lying on her bedside table that was the probable cause for the dream's sudden re-emergence.

The letter from her old headmaster Albus Dumbledore had arrived two days before as nothing more than a small, unobtrusive letter carried by a small grey and black hoot owl to her office at the American Department of Magic. She had taken the letter without hesitation, gave the owl a treat, and sent it on its way. It was only when she turned it over and saw the seal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry emblazoned in the wax seal that caused her to panic. She had promptly thrown the letter, unopened, into the drawer nearest her and shut it with enough formce to have her secretary come into the office to see if there was a problem.

Two days later, she managed to gather up the courage to bread the seal and read the letter. The words from her old Headmaster had thrown her for a loop.

Death Eater attacks on the rise.

Sirius dead.

Harry being possessed by Voldemort.

The attack in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic.

It had been enough to scare the living daylights out of her. And if truth be told, it still was when she thought about it. The thought of more rampant Death Eaters running around unchecked in her homeland made her quiver in fear. But she was reluctant to go back and get into the fray, no matter how much Dumbledore asked. She'd set up a stable life for her and her children after disappearing from Hogwarts right before her own graduation. Truth be told, she hadn't had much of a choice if she wanted to keep her head on her shoulders. So she had changed her name, and with the help of the Department of Magic's higher-ups, had practically erased her former life as Meadow Sabriel Robbins, instead taking the name of Mikayla Lee.

The attack on the old Zabini mansion had given her the cover to leave when she realized the bounty on her own head after escaping from Voldemort and his cronies. Then, when she'd found out she was with child, her resolve to stay away from England and Hogwarts solidified. She couldn't risk bringing her children into the mess, and possibly having them marked as a target. She would not consent to jeopardizing them. So, she had left her life in England behind, and concentrated on what was to come.

Some old friends of her parents had helped her out a great deal during the pregnancy, which was even worse considering she had been carrying four children; all due to the semi-dormant lycanthropy in her that caused numerous eggs to be released into her body during her cycles. The evening by the river with Remus, when they had first been together, she had used a contraceptive charm to ward against any unplanned surprises for later on down the line. But when they had been captured by the Death Eaters upon returning home, and she had been given to Snape for _'instruction time' _while the other Death Eaters looked onhe had cast another charm on her without her knowledge, effectively canceling out the first and leaving her open to get pregnant.

She'd started working her way up through the ranks at the Department of Magic not so long after the birthing of her children. Unfortunately, she had lost her youngest daughter Savannah during the full moon the month after her birth. The change had been too much for the young infant, and she had died, taking a piece of Sable's heart with her. The other three, Sabine (her eldest child and other daughter), Gabriel (youngest son), and Ailric (oldest son), had seemingly grown up over night after that.

After almost five years, she had become a fully fledged Auror and Potions expert. Her children were attending a primary muggle school by then, and showing signs of their magical abilities. Sable had chosen to raise them in the middle of a muggle neighborhood, and teaching them the muggle way of doing things as opposed to them relying on magic from an early age. When it had gotten to the point where Ailric was blowing up furniture when he got angry, and Gabe and Sabine were causing glass to shatter when they fought with each other, Sable decided it was time to sit them down and give them the full truth about what they were.

They had been shocked, to say the least. But, considering that they knew they were werewolves, or at least partly so in two cases, it had not taken them long to warm up to the idea. And so, she had taught them about the wizarding world, slowly easing them into a place that they only thought existed in dreams and fantasies.

By the time they had recieved their letters from Salem School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at age ten, Sable had finally all but let go of her dreams of going back to her homeland. Now, with her children occupied with school, she turned her attention to her work, and more importantly, her Potions reasearch.

Her work with the Wolfsbane Potion had finally broken through, and she had formed an easily replicable set of instructions from her original notes. It had passed inspection and been allowed to the public a few years later.

And so the time had worn on. Gabe, Ailric and Sabine had worked their way through Salem, finally graduating only the year before. All through the time, Sable had never forgotten her home in England, and had actually bought a large house in Scotland when she had earned enough extra money. She and the children would go there every holiday after she bought it. And she would occassionally stay there for extended periods of time when her work with the British Ministry would force her to go back to England for extended periods of time.

She had contacted Dumbledore a few years before, when the mark on her stomach started burning and hurting, and when it was apparent that Voldemort was on the rise again. He alone, had known that she was not dead, and had actually helped in erasing her time at Hogwarts as best he could. The wizened headmaster had kept her up to date since then, and for that she was grateful. She had found out about how her old friend's James and Lily Potter's son, Harry, was doing and how he was holding up. She'd also found out about many of the other people she had went to school with, where they were and what they were doing.

Her guilt over never telling anyone else about her new life only intensified when she found out that both Remus and Snape were still alive and in contact with Dumbledore. She'd expected Snape to have been caught by Voldemort and killed by now. And Remus....well she wasn't exactly sure what to think about him. Yes, she still missed him, and wished she could see him. But if he knew that he was a father, she didn't think he'd take that too well thrown onto the fact that she had never died to begin with.

Sable shook her head in frustration as she pulled her robe more tightly around her. She left her bedroom and traveled down the set of stairs and into her kitchen to get some water, knowing full well from previous encounters that the recurrence of her memories would not allow her to fall back asleep.

Upon making it to the kitchen, she was surprised to see light underneath the door, and hear muffled footsteps walking around, along with the distinct smells of cocoa and sugar. She pushed the swinging door open and found her eldest child, and only living daughter, sitting on the counter, sipping a mug of hot chocolate and staring out the window. The girl turned to face her mother, amethyst eyes slightly rounded in surprise.

"Couldn't sleep, mom?" she asked.

"Afraid not, hon." Sable answered truthfully, taking a seat in a chair at the table. The girl watched her moher carefully for a few moments, noticing the black circles under her eyes and the sallow color of her normally creamy complexion. Her black hair was rumpled, and the natural white streaks seemed to be more prevalent somehow.

"Something wrong? You've been acting strange the last few days." she asked, shoving herself off of the counter and pulling another mug out to make her mother something to drink. And unerrangly getting straight to the heart of the problem of her mother's problem. If she nothing else, she was direct, and didn't beat around the bush when something was wrong. "It wouldn't have anything to do with that letter you got a few days ago, would it?"

"What letter?" Sable asked, playing innocent.

"Oh, you know, maybe the one you threw in the desk drawer without even opening." the girl said, fligpping her long coal black braid behind her back as she sat the cup of steaming chocolate in front of the older woman and giving her mother a pointed look. "It was from Dumbledore again, wasn't it, mom?"

"Yes, Sabine. I'm afraid it was." Sable said, taking a sip of her drink as Sabine took in the news. She had told her children the truth about her connections with the wizarding world in Britian when it was apparent that Voldemort was on the rise again. They had barely been fourteen when everything had started up again, but she considered them mature and responsible enough to know what had happened, and the events that had brought them to live in the world as they were. She'd told them of the night she'd spent with Remus, the attack on her home in Hogsmeade, the capture and eventual death of her parents, her rape at the hands of the Death Eaters, and her and Remus' final escape from said Death Eaters with the help of a mole planted in the ranks of Voldemort's followers. They had taken it quite well, considering the facts, but Sable considered it better for them to know the truth than to wonder forever.

"I figured as much." the young woman known as Sabine answered. "I meant to ask you, but haven't been able to shake Ailric and Gabe lately. And you know how they react when Dumbledore sends any type of letter." Sabine knew what she was referring to. Ever since she'd told them the truth, her two sons, Gabe and Ailric, had usually gotten angry anytime Hogwarts or any other connection to it was mentioned, including their fathers, despite the fact that Sable had taken the fault for not telling Remus and Snape about them before then. The decision had been made, surprisingly by the three children, to keep both Snape and Remus from finding out about them, at least until the time came. And when, and if, the situation did arise, then they would confront the two men. "So, what's got you so uptight?"

"They want me to come back to Hogwarts." Sable answered truthfully, relaying what Dumbledore had told her about the most recent developments in England due to Voldemort's rising. Sabine's eyes went wild in utter surprise and shock upon hearing all that had been happening. She and her brothers had been told the stories of Hogwarts and the Marauders and their mother's time at the magic school when she'd finally told them everything. And hearing that Sirius Black was dead was enough to get her worried again.

"Things are getting hairy over there, and Albus has revived the Order of the Phoenix. They want me to come and help them, and to take a teaching position at the school." Silence settled in between the two women and Sabine finally broke it.

"They? As in more than one?" Sabine asked. "I thought Dumbledore was the only one who even knew you were still alive?"

"Apparently Bill Weasley mentioned my name at the last Order meeting as a potential candidate for the position. It seems as though Dr. Mikayla Lee, American Auror and Potions expert, stuck out in his memory for some odd reason." she said, referring to the alias name she had taken sixteen and a half years before to protect herself and the children.

"That was the red-headed guy with the earring from Egypt, right? Some curse breaker for Gringotts?" Sabine asked. "Really tall, rocker wannabe who was too cute for his own good?"

"Sabine!"

"Yeah, I remember him." Sabine said with a grin.

"Anyhow, Albus wants to speak with me soon. Probably to try and convince me to come back to England." she said dejectedly. "And what's worse, the Ministry is in an uproar. Apparently Harry Potter and his group of friends caused quite a stir when the battled Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries."

"Was anyone seriously hurt?"

"Other than Sirius, no." Sabine said quietly, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mom." Sabine said, hugging her mother and remembering the stories of the famous Marauders and how close her mom was to them. Sabine knew that her mother had wanted to go back to England for a very long time, but had put her dream on hold to get her and her brothers through school and and raised.

"Voldemort has somehow managed to possess Harry due to the damned scar on his head, and it's causing problems on top of problems. Albus thinks I can help." There was a few moments of silence until Sabine finally broke the quietness.

"You're seriously thinking of going back?"

"I'm not sure. I refuse to leave you and your brothers here, but I don't want to risk taking you with me." Sable said. "You'd be the first targets of the Death Eaters if they found out about you. And I don't want that. I don't want you to get hurt because of something that you had no hand in."

"School is starting back in a couple of months." Sabine pointed out. "And both Ailric and Gabe can work there if they want to. I'll still be where I am at the Department. We can stay out of trouble, mom." Sabine tried to reassure her mother of their abilities to care for themselves. True, they were sixteen -would be seventeen by December-, and technically of age in the American wizarding world, but she knew her mother still worried more about them than she would ever really let on.

"You don't understand, hon. Your dear old mom can't go back there by herself...too many memories." Sable said wearily. "But I refuse to uproot what we have settled here just to go back there. I won't jeopardize what we've worked so hard for."

"Mom, can I see that letter?" Sabine asked. Sable pulled out her wand from a hidden pocket in her robe and the letter appeared in front of her daughter. Sabine took the numerous sheets of parchment and settled them into a neat little pile. She pulled the first sheet up and started to read through it, her eye brows frowning in silent worry.

Ten minutes later, she placed the last piece of parchment onto to turned over pile and turned to her mother, a grim expression on her young face. "This is serious, mom."

"I realize that, Sabine." Sable said, running her hand through her own black hair that was streaked with numerous white strands. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"Would your reluctance to go back stem somewhat indirectly from the fact that you have a feeling Remus Lupin and Severus Snape are tied up in the middle of this somehow, somewhere?" she asked, pinpointing her mother's reason for indecision quite quickly and with deadly accuracy. "Especially because you will have to face them if they somehow manage to find out who you are. Which, considering what you've told us about them, shouldn't be to hard for them to do?"

"You won't hear me admit to it." Sable grumbled.

"Are you even going to send Dumbledore a reply?" the young woman asked. "Sounds like time is running thin over there."

"What would you do, Sabine, if you were in my shoes?" her mother asked. The sixteen year old looked at her mother, choosing her worlds carefully.

"You haven't told us everything about what happened in the twenty four hour span that we were conceived." she said carefully. "We, the boys and I, know how you got there, what led up to it, what happened while you were captured, and how you got out. We also know why you left the way you did, considering the circumstances. You did what you thought was right at the time.

But your relationship with Remus and Snape, you never talked about all that much. You said you and Remus were dating, but I have a feeling that you're glossing some of that over. You were more attached to him than you've admitted to us, mom. Don't think we haven't noticed. And as for Snape, I'm not sure exactly what you haven't told us about him. But it's obvious to me that you don't hate him, probably never did, at least to the extent you want us to believe."

"So I shouldn't go back?" Sable asked.

"No, I think you should." Sabine said simply, causing her mother's head to jerk to attention. "England is your home, mom...despite how long you've been away from it. I heard somewhere once, that life was like a book, with each chapter telling a part of a person's life. And the story can never truly be complete if some of the chapters are left half written. There are still a couple of chapters in your book that need to be finished, and have been needing to be finished for quite some time."

"So, I should go back?"

"I think so." Sabine said, shrugging. "Despite the circumstances, I think it's high time Snape and Lupin knew the truth, especially Lupin now that Sirius is gone. The poor man is going to loose it if things don't let up on him, and soon. Seeing you again....well....it may help, mom."

"Remus always was the one to fall into depression stages, given the way things are over there." Sable agreed, setting her now empty mug onto the counter.

"So you've said. And according to this little jewel," Sabine said, tapping the parchment in front of her. "he's only gotten worse." There was a comfortable silence settling in for a few moments before she spoke again. "What are you so scared of, mom? It's not the Death Eaters; you've put criminals worse than them behind bars. Is it Voldemort?"

"Surprisingly, no." Sable said. "It's not."

"Snape and Lupin?"

"Yes."

"You're scared of them? I find that hard to believe, mom. You're not very easily intimidated." Sabine said simply. "Is it the rejection you think you'll get?"

"Yes."

"Of you?"

"No." Sable said quietly, tears forming in her eyes. "Of you and the boys. I could deal with knowing they'd never speak to me again. Hell, I'd deserve it if they never spoke to me again. But if they tried to deny you three...I don't know what I'd do. They are your fathers."

"Mom, you've said yourself, on more than one ocassion might I add, that me, Ailric, and Gave are practically carbon copies of you, Snape, and Lupin when the three of you were younger. I've seen the pictures, and frankly, there's not much denying that either of them can do." Sabine pointed out briskly. She could stand her mother in any kind of mood, but self pity and guilt were not one of them. And as far as she was concerned, and her brothers would say the same, their mother had nothing to be guilty of. "Besides, we're grown. It's not like we absolutely need them around, mom. We've got what we need right here, with you. So if they don't like us, then we can tell them to piss off and forget they ever met us."

"There's nothing subtle about you, is there, young lady?" Sable asked wryly, looking over at her daughter and shaking her head.

"Subtlety is lost on you, mom. You said so yourself."

"Good point." she said, picking up the letter and folding it back, putting it in the envelope.

"At least owl Dumbledore back and tell him you will agree to meet with him to discuss the possibility of you going back. Give him that courtesy at the very least." Sabine said, hugging her mom and walking towards the door. "Night, mom."

"Goodnight, baby." Sable answered. "Sabine?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you go to England, if I asked you to?" Sable asked carefully, gauging her daughter's reaction.

"Yeah." she nodded. "Yeah, I would."

"What about your brothers?"

"Well, I can't answer for them, in all honesty." she said. "But Gabe would probably think you've lost your mind, and Ailric would get mad and then want to know when we're leaving. They like being over there more than they let on. The worse part will be keeping them from blowing up should they ever meet Snape and Remus."

"And you?" she asked. "What about you? What would you do if you saw them face to face?"

"I'll be fine with meeting them." she answered. "Like I said before. I'm practically grown; I don't need them now that the hardest part of raising me is over with. You won't hear a bad word out of me unless they're an ass to you and the boys."

"And if they are?"

"Then they had better apologize, or be able to run, very fast." she said with a wicked little grin. Sable shook her head and smiled, knowing that Sabine would very well carry out on the upspoken threat behind those words. That girl was not one with whom to trifle with.

"Goodnight, Sabine." Sable said quietly.

"Night, mom." Sabine answered. "Try and get some sleep. You need to be rested for your meeting with headmaster Dumbledore." Sable just nodded and waited until she heard Sabine's steps up the stairs end before using her wand to conjure up some parchment and a pen. She chewed on the pen for a few moments, trying to think of a way to start the letter that she was sending to Dumbledore.

**_Dear Albus......_**

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_A/N - Okay, hope you guys liked that chapter. It explains a good bit about where Sable's been since the end of Wolf's Bane, but I do realize that there are a few more little bits that I need to clear up. So, until next chapter, take care._

_A.A._

_Remember to review, I want to know what you guys are thinking._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are the ones that J.K. Rowling has not already used in her own story, which includes Sable, Sabine, Ailric, and Gabe._

_A/N- Hey everyone. I figured I'd give you a little Christmas present and post another chapter for your reading enjoyment. Thanks to all the people who have reviewed this story. It's good to know what you are thinking._

_wolversaremylife1 - Glad to know you liked the chapter. As for the letter Petunia got, and what it said, you'll find out soon. The transformations will be explained in a little while..but I will tell you it has to do with who their fathers are. And as for a romance between Harry and Sabine...it is not going to happen. So you don't have to worry about it. _

_Lothliana - Thanks for your enthusiasm. Of course I'd have to send them back to England. And the fact that she has kids is going to be a huge part of the story. So, hang on for a ride you won't be forgetting anytime soon._

_Sarah - Thanks, I'm glad to know you like what I've got up so far. _

_Later,_

_A.A._

_---------------------_

_Wolf's Bane: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter Three_

_Surprises Abound_

_--------------------_

The street in front of the American Department of Magic was alive with bustling witches and wizards running from place to place. All around them, the day to day activities of the people's lives were unchanged and methodical, utterly untouched by the chaos that was Voldemort's calling card. Remus took a quick look up the twenty story metal and glass building in front of him and sighed quietly.

Dumbledore had roped him into coming to meet the candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, saying the opinion of a former holder of the position would come in handy. Not too far from him, Bill Weasley and Albus Dumbledore were speaking about something, he wasn't very sure about it at the moment. But when Albus called his attention to the front again, Remus followed them into the building and up to the nearest desk where a middle-aged woman was sitting, reading a piece of paper.

"Excuse us, miss." Bill said, giving the lady a smile. "We're looking for Dr. Mikayla Lee. Can you kindly point us in the correct direction?"

"Dr. Lee is on the thirteenth floor." the lady said. "You'll need to go through security check before you get on the elevator, though." She pointed to a small line of people lined up in a roped off area, being checked by some men in security uniforms. Bill thanked her and the three men walked over to the line, only to be intercepted by a young, black headed witch. Remus took a good look at the girl and felt the blood rush to his feet.

The young woman in front of them looked like his old girlfriendSable, down to the eye color. He took a step back as she smiled and waved them over towards a door away from the security line.

"Mr. Weasley?" she asked, looking up at Bill with a grin. "Good to see you again. Headmaster Dumbledore, it is good to see you as well."

"Ah, Miss Sabine." Bill said, giving the girl a grin. "It is good to see you again. We're here to see Dr. Lee."

"Yeah, she sent me to get you. She said there was no point in you having to go through security since she was relatvely sure you weren't going to try to blow up the office." the young woman said. "She's in her office waiting on you." Remus continued to stare at the girl, until she turned around and looked at him.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked, cracking a grin at him.

"I'm sorry, miss, but, who are you?" Remus asked the girl as they walked into an elevator and she hit the button for the thirteenth floor. "Your resemblence to an old friend of mine is uncanny." The young woman chuckled and leaned up against the wall of the elevator.

"I'm Sabine." the girl said, extending her hand towards him, which Remus took out of habit. "I work here as Dr. Lee's secretary. Who are you?"

"This is Remus Lupin, Sabine." Dumbledore said, nodding towards him. "He is a dear friend of mine." Remus caught the look of shock that passed over the young girl's eyes, and wondered what she was hiding.

"Lupin, huh?" she asked, a slight frown marring her features. "I don't remember seeing your name on the visitor's list along with Mr. Weasley and Headmaster Dumbledore."

"We brought him along to help with the interview." Bill said, picking up on the girl's slight change in disposition. "He was the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts a few years ago at Hogwarts, and we thought he could give us a fair assesment of your mom's knowledge of the subject."

"I see." she said, nodding. "Well, welcome, Mr. Lupin. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, miss." Remus answered. The elevator door opened a few moments later, and Sabine led them out and through a door, into a waiting area.

"Please make yourself comfortable, and I will tell her that you have arrived." she said, gesturing towards the numerous chairs along the walls. The men nodded and Sabine walked quickly through a door, not even bothering to knock. A few minutes later, Sabine re-emerged and walked behind her desk, quicky pulling out some paperwork. "She'll see you now, gentlemen."

"Thank you, Sabine." Dumbledore said, smiling at her and walking towards the door.

"Not a problem, headmaster." she said. "Go on it, she's waiting for you."

"Did you inform her of our extra guest?" Dumbledore asked, refering to Lupin. "I know she wasn't expecting me to bring Mr. Lupin along as well."

"Yeah, I did, as a matter of fact." Sabine said, uncomfortable with the older man's knowing look. "Uh, she's a little surprised, but...well, go talk to her, won't you?" Dumbledore nodded and opened the door, waving Remus and Bill in before him. The two younger men walked in and Sabine shot a glare towards Dumbledore when they were out of sight, that the wizened man pointedly ignored.

When Remus stepped into the office, he quickly took in the numerous framed pictures that were mounted on the wall, but found it odd that the occupants of said pictures were absent from their places. In front of him, he could see three black leather chairs sitting in front of a large mahogany desk, but what caused his blood to run cold was the woman rising from behind it.

Remus' breath caught in his throat as he watched her stand up from behind the desk. She had coal black hair that was liberally streaked with white, pulled back into a tight braid, and expressive violet eyes that had a look of utter shock in them at the moment.

Pictures of Sable rushed through his mind. Seeing the young girl at the secretary's desk had thrown him for a loop, but now he was close to hyperventialating where he stood. He was knocked out of his shock when Bill stepped forward and extended his hand to the woman.

"Agent Bane, how have you been?" the eldest Weasley asked, causing the woman's focus to come forward immediately, her eyes leaving Remus' immediately.

"I've been well, Mr. Weasley." she said with a sincere smile. "I take it your family is doing well?"

"Yes." he grinned. "Well, with the minor exception of my younger sibling Percy being a complete prat, the rest of our clan is fine. We're to plentiful to knock off, and too stubborn to leave."

"Well, it seems as though you have little to worry about then, Bill." she said. Bill grinned and stepped away from her. "Who have you brought with you?"

"You know Albus Dumbledore, I'm sure." he said, gesturing to the white haired wizard behind him. "And this is Remus Lupin, a dear friend of mine. Remus, this is Dr. Mikayla Lee, also known as Agent Bane to her co-workers, and any others who were fortunate enough to make her acquaintance."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lupin." the woman said, shaking his hand and nodding. "I was not aware of your arrival with Mr. Weasley and Albus.Please, have a seat." The three men took seats in the comfy chair sitting in front of the woman's desk, and watched as she took her own seat behind the desk. "How have you been, Albus. It has been quite a while since I've seen you."

"It has been a while, if I do remember correctly." he said, smiling at her. "However, I do hope you and your family has been well, since we last conversed."

"We have, Albus." she said. "Thank you. Now, what brings you all the way across the Atlantic and into my office? Surely you did not come all this way just to catch up on old times? Bill has told me that you wished to speak with me concerning the postion of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor at Hogwarts."

"Indeed, child." Albus said. "As I told you in our last correspondance, things are currently in chaos in our world. The re-emergence of Voldemort has caused quite an uproar now that the Ministry has acknowledged what you and I have known for the past number of years. You know as well as I, my dear, that this wizard is not to be taken lightly. As such, we are in need of a competent instructor in one of the classes that will be a key in keeping our students safe. At the moment, Cornelius Fudge has been booted out of his position as Minister, and Amelia Bones is now in his place. But I would still prefer to have an instructor of my own choosing teaching this particular class."

"What happened to the last instructor?" Agent Bane asked, seemingly not to surprised to hear that Fudge had been thrown out onto his rear. "Who was it?"

"Dolores Umbridge." Bill said with a frown.

"The Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic?" Agent Bane asked, the surprise evident. "Why on Earth would she be put as an instructor?"

"You know her?" Remus asked, more and more intrigued by this woman in front of him.

"Of course I know thatridiculous woman." she answered tersely. "I've had to deal with her a number of times before when my work took me to Great Britian. And I'll be the first to say I was glad when I got away from her."

"As such, you can see our predicament when she decided to not teach the practical use of the spells taught in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Dumbledore said.

"She only taught theory?" the woman asked. "That's practically useless! What about the instructors before her?"

"Well, the first was possessed by Voldemort, the second was utterly clueless, the third -who I might add was a wonderful teacher, and is currently occupying the seat across from me-, was forced to resign, the fourth was an imposter using polyjuice potion to mask as the Auror Albus had hired originally, and the fifth was Umbridge." Bill said, ticking each point off as he went along. Remus watched as Agent Bane turned to him and frowned.

"You taught, Mr. Lupin?" she asked.

"Yes, I did." he said. "But an unfortunate series of events occured and I voluntairly stepped down from the position."

"Mind if I ask what happened?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Remus said shortly. The woman only nodded and turned back to Dumbledore.

"Fari enough." she said, shrugging. "Your business after all. Now, you were saying, Albus?"

"So, you can see we need someone who not only knows the importance of a proper background in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but someone who knows what it will be used for." Dumbledore said. "Your encounters with Voldemort during his first assent to power gives you the proper knowledge of what the students need to know."

"Albus told us that you know what Voldemort is capable of." Remus said, watching as the woman tried to hide the flinch at hearing that name. "It would make many parents more comfortable knowing that an Auror with your reputation is teaching their children the knowledge they need to help protect themselves against his horror."

"What Albus has conveniently forgotten to mention, unfortunately," the woman said stonily, "is the fact that my escape from that monster's clutches was helped along bythe sheer dumb luck that seemed to have been a permanent friend of mine during my childhood."

"None the less, your help will be greatly appreciated." Bill said.

"What about the Order, Albus?" the woman asked. "You told me that you had revived it earlier this year. What's its current status?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information to you, my dear." Dumbledore said solemnly. "Only the members of the Order are privy to that information." Agent Bane's eyes narrowed into slits and she planted her hands on her desk and leaned across to bridge the gap between herself and the headmaster.

"You want me to uproot my family, and drag them into the viper pit I left behind sixteen..almost seventeen years ago, but you won't tell me what you're doing to stop it?" she asked regarding him carefully. "You're going to have to give me more than that, Albus."

"You have all the proof you need, have had it for a while." Dumbledore said firmly. "You knew before we did, that he was coming back, Agent Bane. What more do you want?"

"A guarantee."

"Of what?" Bill asked.

"That, if by some snowball's chance in hell I agree to this, my family will be protected." she said. "My children are my life, Albus. I refuse to take them into a situation where they will be harmed."

"Surely your husband...." Remus started, only to be cut off by her head shaking.

"Do you see a ring on my hand, Mr. Lupin?" she asked, holding her hand up. Remus shook his head. "I don't have one."

"I see." Remus said, nodding slightly. "Forgive me."

"Forgiven." she answered lightly, smiling at him softly. "As for..." Before she could finish the sentence, a small buzzer on her desk went off. Agent Bane frowned and pressed the button down on the small intercom box. "What is it, Sabine?"

"Ailric and Gabe want to speak with you about something. Should I let them in?" the young girl's voice asked.

"No." Agent Bane said quickly.

"Are you alright in there, mom?" came a more masculine voice, who Remus immediately assumed was either the aforementioned Ailric or Gabe. "Everything okay?"

"Get out of the way, Ailric!" came the young woman's annoyed voice. "I told you she was busy. You can wait until she's done."

"I'm fine, Ailric." Agent Bane said. "But I'm in an important meeting right now. I'll talk to you when I get done."

"Oh, okay. Well, can Gabe and I go to Brandon's house for the evening?"

"Do whatever you want, just be at home before your curfew." Agent Bane said.

"Great! Thanks, mom." came the young man's voice.

"You're welcome." she said. "Now unless one of you are on the floor bleeding to death, dying, or already dead, no more interruptions."

"Sorry, mom." came three distinct voices from the intercom. "Won't happen again, we promise."

"See that it doesn't." she said. "Now go."

"Later, mom." was the last thing they said before the intercom clicked off and Agent Bane leaned back against her chair.

"I apologize, gentlemen." she said after a moment.

"You're a mother?" Remus asked suddenly.

"Yes, I am." Agent Bane said. "Is ita crime to have children, Mr. Lupin? You sound surprised."

"You don't seem old enough to be a mother to children who sound that old, is all." he said honestly.

"I did not know my personal life was on trial here." she said firmly.

"It is not." Dumbledore cut in smoothly. "However, I still need an answer, Dr. Lee."

"No." she said firmly, looking the old man straight in the eye. "I told you before and I'll tell you again, Dumbledore. No, and that's final."

"No?" asked Bill. "To joining the Order, right? You're still willing to teach then?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley." she said, shaking her head. "I won't be doing either of them. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" the read head asked. "Why won't you come? What's your reason for staying here when you know what's going on over there, and can help us?"

"I have my reasons for declining." she said crisply. "Three of which, you just heard from, and the rest you need not concern yourself with."

"So, you won't help us?" Remus asked.

"I'm afraid I can't." she said honestly. "I am sorry."

"Remus, Bill, would you please excuse us for a few moments?" Dumbledore asked, not looking at the two men situated on each side of him. "There is somethingI must speak to Dr. Lee about."

"Yes, sir." they said, standing up from the chairs and walking towards the doors, quickly exiting out of them and leaving the woman and Dumbledore to themselves.

"Ms. Robbins....."

"Why'd you bring him here, Albus?" Sable asked quietly. "I have not seen him in almost seventeen years, and now he just pops up in my office without a warning? What were you thinking?"

"We are in dire need of your help, Sable." he said gravely. "I acted as I thought would be best. Voldemort is gaining power, and if he is not stopped soon, it will not be long before his influence is felt over here as well."

"That still does not give you the right to spring Remus on me unexpectantly like you did!" she cursed. "It was unneccesary, and you know it!"

"I am sorry, but we need your help." Dumbledore said. "You are the only person outside of Europe I trust enough to offer to you what I am."

"I refuse to uproot my children and go back to Hogwarts." she said vehemently. "They have their lives here. They're settled into a stable lifestyle, and I refuse to change that."

"Then leave them here and you come back."

"I am not leaving them." she said crisply. "If I had a husband who I knew would look after them, I would go."

"Yes, they are part werewolf, aren't they?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Your children are the only thing holding you from doing this, correct Sable?"

"Yes." she answered. "I want to help you, Albus, but I won't put them at risk."

"If I could guarantee their safety beyond a shadow of a doubt, would you come back?"

"Yes. I would, for the simple fact that I don't want them to go through what I did after that night." she answered softly.

"That night, it still haunts you, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Yes. It's something I won't be forgetting anytime soon, I can assure you."

"If something is not done about Voldemort right now, you're children will have to relive that night in due time. And your boys will have to stay there and watch what happened to you, happen to their sister. Do you want that to happen?" Dumbledore pleaded.

"I don't want that. Not for my babies." Sable said, shaking her head miserably.

"Then help us, Sable." the wizard said. "Come back and help us stop this." Sable seemed to consider this for a while before looking at the Headmaster.

"Give me your word that my children will be safe," she said. "And I'll go with you. Swear to me on Lily and James' graves that Ailric, Gabe, and Sabine will be safe, and I'll go."

"I can arrange for them to be placed within the school as assistants for the teachers, or tutors for the students." he said. "They will be within your reach at all times. The _Fidelius _charm can be used to secure their identities and locations."

Sable fell into silence for a few moments, contemplating the effectiveness of Dumbledore's plan. She finally caved and turned back to the bearded man, a look of utter defeat on her face.

"I'll need some time to speak with my kids about this." she said slowly. Dumbledore only nodded.

"When will I know your decision?"

"By tomorrow at the latest." she said simply.

"Very well then." he said, getting up from the chair. Sable rose also and walked him to the door.

"Albus, can I ask you something?"

"Of course." he said.

"Where is Severus Snape?" she asked. "You said you keep in contact with him frequently, where is he, since I take it he was never caught by Voldemort as a spy."

"Severus is the Potion's Master at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said. "You'll see him should you decide to join us."

"Snape is teaching?" she asked. "Never pegged him for that career choice."

"Well, his affinity for potions did help in the matter of giving me a reason to keep him around." Dumbledore said.

"I always knew Gabe took after him more than I realize." she mumbled. Dumbledore chuckled and nodded, finally making it to the door of the office.

"Your sons look remarkably like their fathers." he said, spying one of the many pictures that was beginning to fill back up with its occupants now that Remus and Bill had left. The one currently under observation by the headmaster, showed Sable amongst her three tussling teenagers, rolling on the ground and scolding them for dragging her into it. The three kids just laughed and proceeded to dog pile her in retaliation.

"Don't I know it." she said with a sight. "They act just like them too, except for the constant fighting Snape and Remus always did. These two actually get along quite well." They stood there, just looking at a number of the pictures as the occupants waved and smiled back. "Should I tell them, Albus?"

"If they come to Hogwarts with you, you are going to be hard pressed to come up with an explanation." he said. "As much as the boys look like their fathers, I'm sure the resemblance will not go unnoticed. Remus and Severus will find out soon."

"Remus already suspects something." Sabine said dejectedly. "Seeing Sabine probably scared ten years worth of life off of him. And I probably didn't help matters along. Poor guy probably thinks he's going crazy now. I really wish you hadn't brought him along, Albus."

"I acted without thinking. Please forgivean old man." Dumbledore said. "Just remember, Sable, you were loved by both of them at one time. Your children are proof of that."

"Remus loved me." she said. "Snape was following orders to save both our hides. That's not love."

"He could have handed you over to any one of those other men that night, my dear." Dumbledore pointed out. "Remember that."

"I know." she said. "It's just....hard. I don't know what to do."

"Follow your instincts, my child. Do what you feel is right. You can never go wrong that way." Dumbledore said sagely.

"Thank you, headmaster." she said with a smile as opened the door and followed the old wizard out.

Remus looked up from the desk where he was talking to the carbon copy of his old girlfriend Sable when Dumbledore and Agent Bane walked out.

"I await your answer, Agent Bane. Until then, goodbye." Dumbledore said with a flourish. The Auror nodded and stood against the receptionist's desk. Sabine's rather animated conversation with Remus and Bill about Quidditch came to a halt quickly. When Agent Bane walked out and extended her hand to Bill, she gave a real smile to him.

"You're a Quidditch fan?" she asked, looking at him and them Remus.

"Isn't everybody?" Remus asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Mr. Lupin and Mr. Weasley were just telling me about the Quidditch teams at Hogwarts." Sabine said.

"Quidditch obsessed girl!" Agent Bane mocked, smiling down at her daughter. "Get back to work." Sabine groaned dramatically and shook her head. Remus was quickly reminded of the face Sable had made when she had an assignment she didn't want to do.

"Mom's a slave driver. You sure you want to make her a teacher?" Sabine asked.

"Oh, hush, Sabine." Agent Bane said, trying not to blush. "I'm not that bad."

"Yeah, just don't let her see you get mud in her lab. Then she does get angry, and it's not very pretty." came a young boy's voice from the doorway. Remus looked over and his jaw dropped to the floor.

There, standing in the doorway, was an exact replica of him....only about sixteen years younger. He glanced over at Agent Bane,who suddenly seemed a nervous wreck. Dumbledore only smiled and walked over to the boy.

"Young master Ailric." he said pleasantly. "How have you been?"

"Fine, sir." he said tersely, regarding the three men in the office with ice in his eyes. When his glance settled on Remus, the werewolf could feel ice coursing through his veins. And the glare the young man was currently sending the seemingly unaffected Dumbledore seemed out of place on his young face. "What brings you all the way here?" Dumbledore was about to speak to the young man when Sabine jumped up from her desk and went to her brother's side.

"Excuse us, gentlemen." she said with a small smile, tugging on her brother's arm. "But we're just leaving for Brandon's house, aren't we Ailric? Where's Gabe?"

"Right here, Sabine, waiting for you two." came another voice, this one deeper than the other young man's and much more calm. Remus turned once again to the doorway, barely registering the small _'son of a bitch'_ that Agent Bane mumbled before his eyes settled onto a face he had not seen since he was still in Hogwarts. The young man at the door was easily his own height, with long black hair and purple eyes, just like his mother, that were currently narrowed in an all to familiar sneer. _'It's Snape all over again!'_ he thought. _'He's exactly the same except for the big nose. And this kid is not so damned scrawny. What the hell is going on here? Who are these people!' _These kids...this woman..was bringing up memeories that he had buried so long before. He stood up and was about to leave when Sabine stopped him.

"Are you feeling well, Mr. Lupin?" she asked. "You are awful pale." Thankfully for the werewolf in question, Bill had noticed his sudden, obvious discomfort and decided to get him away from these people.

"He's fine, miss." Bill said. "We'll just wait outside until Albus is finished. It was nice seeing you again." The girl nodded and Bill and Remus left with the barest of goodbyes to the other occupants of the room. Sable groaned and shook her head, when she saw Bill and Remus leave out, then tried to head off any arguements between the headmaster and her eldest son.

"Kids." she said, getting the three teenager's attention. "In my office, now."

"But, mom!" Ailric said, turning his attention to her. "Why..."

"Now." she said firmly. "I'll explain when I see headmaster Dumbledore out."

"Let's go, you two." Sabine said, looping an arm through each of her brother's arms and literally dragging them into the office before shutting the door. Raised voices could be heard a few moments later, and a distinct _'thud'_ as someone hit the floor. Sable put her head in her hands and could feel the tears threatening to come out. A reassuring hand on her shoulder kept the waterworks from starting.

"Now you see why I'm scared to put my boys in the same room as their fathers." she said, shaking her head. "Those two hate anything remotely resembling Hogwarts, or the people within it."

"They will be fine, Sable." he said. "I take it they did not know about our meeting today?"

"I was going to tell them afterwards." she admitted. "Sabine knew about it, but they didn't."

"Perhaps now is the time to explain what is going on." Dumbledore said. "Before Gabe or Ailric give their sister a concussion."

"Are you kidding me? That was Sabine knocking one of them to the floor. And if I had my guess it was probably Ailric." she said. "Gabe is a bit more restrained, and not as likely to try and manhandle his sister."

"I shall await your answer, Ms. Robbins." he said. "Until then, goodbye."

"Oh, Albus." Sable said quickly, getting his attention again. "Take this." She handed him a set of keys on a ring, and gave a small smile. "It's the least I can do." The old man nodded and gave her a brief hug.

"Thank you, my dear." he said. "I'll have Molly Weasley get on it immediately. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, headmaster." she said, opening the door and watching him leave. "Take care." The old man only waved and began his descent down the stairs, leaving Sable to the mess in her office. The woman in question squared her shoulders and absently pulled the band that restrained her hair into the plait, allowing the long strands to unwind and fall around her face. "This is adamned fine mess I've gotten myself into this time, isn't it Sable." she asked herself. She walked over to her office door and took a deep breath before turning the knob. "Time to face the firing squad."

---Down on the street in front of the Department of Magic building...---

Remus and Bill made it out of the office and down to the busy street below with out a word being said.

"You okay, Remus?" Bill asked, watching the older man carefully as they sat down on a bench. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine." the werewolf answered. "Just a little surprised."

"About what? I told you she had children." Bill said.

"It's not that." he said. "It's the resemblance of that girl to an old friend of mine. They're exactly the same, down to the eye color. And those two boys....."

"Old girlfriend?" Bill asked. "They might be related. It's a possibility."

"I suppose." he said, not really believing the younger man. "Bill, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Exactly how much information can your contact at the Department of Magic get her hands on?" Remus asked.

"Pretty much anything." he said, shrugging. "Why do you ask?"

"Can you get her to find all the information on that woman, and her children?" he asked. "Something is not right with her and those kids."

"I'm sure Dumbledore would have told us if Agent Bane's record wasn't clean." Bill said, thoroughly confused.

"It's not her record I'm worried about." Remus said. "That woman...those kids...it's just too much of a coincidence."

"You said Agent Bane couldn't be tied to your old girlfriend." Bill said, scratching his head. "How can you be so sure if you havent' seen her is so long?"

"Because she didn't have any siblings." Remus said. "And it can't be Sable."

"Why not?"

"Because she's supposed to be dead."

---Back in Sable's office...---

When Sable walked into her office, she found Sabine sitting on her desk, and Ailric and Gabe sitting in two of the poofy chair in front of their oldest sibling. She walked behind the desk and Sabine moved to the last chair between her two brothers.

"Was that man who I think he was?" Gabe asked gravely. Sable nodded despondantly, her ability to speak temporarily forgotten.

"What's he doing here?" Ailric asked, the anger in his voice quite apparent.

"They want me to go back to England." Sable said with a frown. "Things are getting hairy over there, and they could use my help."

"What do they want you to do?" Gabe asked. "Surely he doesn't expect you to just go traipising back into Voldemort's inner circle."

"They want me to teach at Hogwarts." she answered, glancing to Sabine, who only nodded and motioned for her to go on. "The post of Defense Against the Dark Arts is open, and Dumbledore believes I have the ability to teach the students what they need to know."

"Why can't they find someone else?" Ailric asked, his anger subsiding now that he knew his mother was not about to just pick up and take them to England as soon as she could get a portkey ready.

"My experiences with Voldemort..."

"Is what caused us to come about."Ailric pointed out sullenly.

"That's not a bad thing, Ailric." Sable said angrily. "Don't you ever think that."

"I'm looking at the facts, mom."Ailric said, shaking his head. "Are you willing to go back into that chaos just to catch some rogue wizard? It's stupid for you to go back. Voldemort thinks you're dead anyway. Sabine, back us up here, will you?"

"Mom already knows what I think about this." Sabine said simply, folding her arms across her chest. "Fight your own case, cause I don't agree with you."

"What?" Ailric asked. "This is crazy!"

"You don't understand."their mothersaid, shaking her head. "I know what that wizard is capable of doing. And it's not pretty. You weren't there when he was starting to gain power. He and his followers tortured, maimed, raped, and killed innocent people. You didn't see....." Sable chocked off her sentence, and Sabine rose from her chair to go to her mother's side. A few moments later, Sable got herself under control and faced her two sons. "Innocent people are dying over there. Many of my friends from school have already lost people closest to them. I can't stay here while things are that bad."

"Sirius Black is dead." Sabine said simply, watching her brother's reactions carefully. The two boys knew of their mother's close friendship with the Azkaban escapee, and shook their heads in disbelief. "He died at the attack on the Department of Mysteries."

"So Potter's godfather's dead." Gabe asked. "Who has custody of the boy now?"

"His aunt and uncle are still legal guardians." Sable said. "But Remus plans on trying to get the Ministry to grant him guardianship of Harry until he turns of age. That is, if Harry will allow it."

"You're not going along with this, are you?" Ailric asked, turning to his brother with a glare.

"If you would calm yourself long enough to look at the facts, Ailric, you'd admit that you, me, or Sabine would to the same thing if something this bad happened to our homelands." Gabe said firmly. "Mom has every right to want to go back and help if she can."

"But does that include taking us with her?" Ailric shot back. "I don't know about you, but I have a feeling if Voldemort finds out your still alive, and we're your kids, his target is going to move from Potter, to us. And I don't like the idea of a big red bull's eye being painted on my ass for the Death Eaters to find."

"I won't leave you three here." she said firmly. "As for keeping you safe, the headmaster and I have already discussed it. All three of you will be given positions at the school as tutors or teaching assistants. The _Fidelius _charm can be performed, and a Secret Keeper selected. No Death Eaters will be able to find you as long as you are within Hogwarts grounds and the surrounding villages."

"Changing our appearances and last names would be required as well." Sabine stated. "We'll be required to stay at the school, instead of our house I'm guessing."

"I volunteered to let Dumbledore use the house as headquarters for the Order, anyway." Sable said, shifting in her seat. "So, there is going to be people in and out from now on."

"You turned our house over to that man?" Gabe asked.

"He's trustworthy." Sable defended. "I trust Dumbledore."

"It's not him I'm concerned about." Gabe said. "What about all the pictures on the walls? Lupin and Snape will figure out who we are the second they step foot in that place. I thought we didn't want them to know about us?"

"I personally think it's time they found out about us." Sabine said off handedly, causing her brother's to blanche in surprise.

"Remus already suspects something." Sable said. "He'll be back here in a few days, if not sooner, mark my word. And as for Snape, well, I'm not looking forward to his reaction should we decide to go back, but I'll deal with it when the time comes."

"Yeah, Lupin was fine when he came in the waiting area downstairs." Sabine pointed out. "Then he took a good look at me and turned as white as a sheet. Of course, seeing the copy of an old girlfriend who is supposed to be dead sitting at a desk would probably scare any guy speechless. Granted, Ailric and Gabe's arrival was the proverbial icing on the cake. I wonder how Snape is going to react?"

"If he's anything like he used to be, he'll get quiet and not speak to me for a couple of days." Sable said. "Then he'll blow up at me over some trivial matter, and leave again. But eventually he'll let it drop and move on with his life. Although with a surprise like this, he could give me the cold shoulder for a few weeks."

"Sounds like someone else we all know." Ailric mumbled, looking over at Gabe, who only glared back.

"So, what do you think, fellas?" Sable asked her sons. "Are you willing to go?" Ailric mumbled something and Gabe only sat back, a look of contemplation on his face.

"Can we have some time to think about it?" Gabe asked. "This is not a decision to be taken lightly."

"As we all know." Sabine said sarcastically.

"I'll need your answers soon." Sable said, getting out from behind her desk and walking over to her sons, kneeling down to envelope them in a tight hug. "I want to go back. I want to see my friends again after all these years, and I want to help James' and Lily's son Harry put an end to this if I can, but I won't force you to go if you don't want to. Just think about it, please." She let them go, and Ailric stood up immediately.

"I'm going to Brandon's house." he said quietly. "I'll be home tonight sometime."

"Be careful." Sable said, nodding. The boy only turned and walked out of the office, not saying a word to anyone else, and slamming the door shut behind him.

"Well, he's mad." Sabine stated the obvious. "Figured as much."

"He has a right to be." Sable said, her head hanging in desperation. "You all do."

"I already told you what I think about this, mom." Sabine said. "Remember? Book? Chapter? Close?" Sable only shook her head and smiled, where as Gabe turned to his sister and frowned.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Don't ask." Sable said. "Well Gabe, what's your thoughts on this?"

"You should go back." he said simply, pushing his hair out of his face and settling his mother with a stern look. "Things are bad, and if you can help, you should."

"You'll go back then?" Sable asked, wary of her son's immediate acceptance to her suggestion. He was usually the least agreeable when it came to some sort of change.

"I'll do what I think is right." he said. "And going back seems to be the right thing to do. You've told us about this Voldemort guy since I can remember. And I think helping Potter might help you to feel better for leaving you life in Britain. You want to go back there, have for a while, and I know it. It's time they found out, mom. We can't hide from them forever."

"Spoken out of the mouth of the babe." Sabine said with a grin, turning to her mother. "Well, now if we can get Mr. Hot-Head to calm down. We'll be set to go. We'll just need to get the animal's stuff together and pack."

"He's the one I'm worried about."

---Back outside the building...---

Remus said nothing to Dumbledore as they walked down the street to where their portkey waited. Bill had gone to the Department of Magic's head secretary to try and weasel out more information for him, and told Dumbledore that he would get a later portkey back to England.

"What did you think of her, Remus?" Dumbledore asked as they walked down the street.

"She seems like she knows what is going on." he said stoically. "Which is odd to me. Why would she keep up with what is going on halfway across the world when she lives here?"

"Her roots are in Great Britain." Dumbledore said as they turned the corner. "She has her reasons for being concerned."

"What are you not telling me, Albus?" Remus finally questioned. "Something is not right here, and you know it."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked. "I see nothing wrong here. As for what I have not told you, I assure you that it will become clear soon enough." Remus regarded the man with a glare before they entered into the building where they would get their portkey from to take them back across the Atlantic Ocean. He just hoped that the information Bill could get would put the puzzle pieces in place for him.

A couple of hours later, Bill left the Department of Magic with a thick stack of files that he'd managed to get from the head secretary. He'd scanned over them, not finding anything out of the ordinary, but still wondering why Remus' reaction to Agent Bane had been so severe. It was like the older man had seen a ghost when he'd laid eyes on the woman. He shook his head in confusion and decided to drop the files off at Hogwarts, which was where Remus was currently staying before Apparating back to the Burrow to inform his parents of Agent Bane's decision, and to get a decent meal before heading back to Gringott's for his shift at the goblin run bank.

Later on that evening, back in Privett Drive, Harry was sitting in his room when Hedwig winged in and settled onto her perch, a note attached to her leg. He quickly undone the tie and opened the letter.

**_Harry,_**

_**Guess what? They found a new place for us to work out of. Apparently, the woman that Bill and the headmaster went to interview today offered her house as a base of operatioins. It's not too far from Hogwarts apparently. Bill said that she gave the headmaster the keys right before he left out. Dumbledore's already come by here and took mom to go check it out and put up more wards. Apparently, it's a big house, but I haven't seen it yet. **_

_**Anyhow, I figured I'd tell you about it. I expect once they get the protective wards in place and strengthened, someone'll be coming to get you. Hang in there, mate. **_

**_Ron_**

Well, that was some good news at least, Harry reasoned. He tucked the letter away and decided to go get something to drink. He was halfway down the staircase when he heard his uncle's shouting and yelling.

"...menace, Petunia! Can't you see it? The boy is a danger to all of us! He has to go, now!" Vernon Dursley said loudly, banging on the table.

"He's not going anywhere, Vernon, and that's final!" Petunia Dursley said firmly. "He'll stay here until Dumbledore sends someone for him."

"I told you that you should have sent the boy away when he was left on our doorstep!" Vernon Dursley said. "He never should have been allowed to stay here then!"

"I was not going to turn away an innocent child, Vernon." Petunia said.

"You knew he would be just as abnormal as that sister of yours and her husband!" he yelled. "And you took him anyway."

"He was in danger, Vernon." Petunia said, her anger coming out. "Just because my sister and I did not get along was not a reason to deny her son. It wasn't his fault what happened."

"He's a freak!"

"He's my nephew." Petunia said. "Just because he can do magic is not a reason to throw him out!"

"You've had a change of heart about this, Petunia." Vernon Dursley said suddenly, his voice turning accusing. "Why? What's changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"Harry is the only family I have left." Petunia said stonily. "I lost my parents and my sister to the very same people who are after Harry. I won't let them take away what is left of my family, Vernon."

"You're putting the rest of us in danger, Petunia, allowing him to stay here." Vernon Dursley said. "This is utterly ridiculous, espcially sincethat girlwas not even your..."

"He won't be here much longer, Vernon." she said firmly, cutting her husband off in the middle of his tirade. "Dumbledore will send someone to get him soon, the last letter said so. Now, get over it. Harry isn't going anywhere."

Harry was absolutely amazed to hear his aunt defending him from his Uncle Vernon. Apparently her knowledge of the magical world was more extensive than he'd anticipated. This news was somewhat reassuing to him, knowing that at least his aunt was aware of what kind of threat Voldemort posed to him.

Granted, he hadn't known that his maternal grandparents had been killed by Death Eaters, but he was not all too surprised to find out. His parents had defied their master on more than one occasion, then went into hiding. It was plausible that Voldemort had given the orders to have them killed just to get at his mother, and possibly drive the wedge of discord even further between his mother and aunt.

Harry didn't know when he was going to get out of Privett Drive, but he was hoping it would be soon. His scar tingled a little, and he rubbed it absently. It had been acting up the past two days, and Harry had a fleeting suspicion that Voldemort was up to no good. He'd been trying to use what little bit of Occulemency he'd learned from Snape to block out the dreams and visions he'd see at night, and it was helping a little. But it was not enough to completely block out the dreams and nightmares.

He'd even taken to keeping a small journal of the dreams he'd been having, writing them down when he was woken up by the images his mind conjured up during his sleep. So far, he journal held only two entries, but they were graphic enough to make a grown man squirm. His dream from the night before had been of a group of black hooded Death Eaters torturing a muggle couple they had captured on the outskirts of some town. He could still see the looks of terror and horror on the woman's face as the Death Eaters tortured her husband, eventually killing him with the Killing Curse. He remembered her screams of pain as they used curse after painful curse on her, before her body finally gave out and she succombed to death.

He shook his head and tried to clear the images from his mind. It would do him no good to think about it right now, only cause him to dream more about it later on that night.

Harry finally decided to take a walk around the block to try and clear his head. As he walked out the door, he could hear his Uncle Vernon's continued rants mixed in with the sound of Dudley blowing up some building, and undoubtely destroying some innocent bystandard on his new video game.

That boy really did have a morbid sense of humor.

---------------------

_A/n - I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Things are about to heat up considerably, and I hope you are ready to see it. :) I should be updating a bit more in the next month or so, seeing as how I am out of school until the 17th of January. So, until next time, take care and be safe. _

_Oh, and remember to review. I want to know what you all think. (And they make absolutely wonderful Christmas presents!) ;)_

_Merry Christmas to all of you, and I hope you have a happy New Year._

_Avonnalay-Ariemay_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. The only thing I own is the plot line (and that's probably been used before now), and the characters not original to the Harry Potter universe._

_Okay, now I just want to announce one thing...._

_I HAD A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!! THERE WAS ACTUALLY SNOW AT MY HOUSE!!!_

_Okay, sorry about that, but where I live, we're usually wearing shorts and t-shirts for Christmas. So, it's quite a big deal for me. Yes, I am getting excited over snow....so shoot me._

_Special Thanks to the following people for reviewing:_

_**AnGeL-GiRl-XxX **- I'm so happy that you like the way this is going. I was seriously wondering if it would have as good a following as the first. And here is your update before New Years!_

_**cdkobasiuk** - Thanks for the review. And just for the record, I almost did make him drop, but I decided against it._

_**ChEeRIEaDeR** - Sorry, but that's the way it goes. There is a reason for it in the end, I promise. Just hang in there. Heck, you can pretend they're all Remus' if you want. ;)_

_**Sarah** - Nope, Ailric is Remus' son, not Snape's. Sorry. As for why I named them what I did...well there's no reason other than I just like the names. (And I think that Robin Hood's father was named Ailric of Loxley, but I'm not sure. I think that is where I got it from....) Although their middle names may surprise you. As for what Petunia was about to say about Harry..well, you'll see. ":)_

_**Lothliana** - I'm glad you are still stickin' in there with me. Here's another chapter for you._

_**wolvesaremylife1 **- Oh, he's going to love what he finds out about Dr. Lee. Ever wondered what Remus would be like if he got really, really angry? We're going to find out.....and soon. Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy._

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_**Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Dredging up the Truth**_

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The house that the members of the Order of the Phoenix were currently standing in front of could more accurately be described as a small mansion or manor. Large bay windows and an expansive front porch gave the darkened building a slightly more hospitable appearance, but nothing could erase the thick feel of solitude that encompassed the surrounding area. It was readily apparent that whomever owned the house and surrounding lands preferred to be by themselves.

Remus watched as Molly Weasley and her second eldest son Charlie walked forward and unlocked one of the large entrance doors. Beside him, Tonks shuddered.

"Not a very inviting place, aye Remus?" she asked, following as he began to walk up the cobbled stones that led to the house.

"Hmm." he answered, walking into the house behind Dumbledore and pulling off his coat. The wizened old wizard in front of him had told them that the house they would be using as Order headquarters belonged to Dr. Lee, and she had volunteered it to act as their place of meeting until other arrangements could be made. Remus had found this quite odd, especially since the woman in question had seemed so reluctant to help them out at first. But Dumbledore had apparently convinced her somewhat after their initial rocky meeting. Remus was still quite surprised with the way the old wizard had of reassuring people during the worst of times.

Dr. Mikayla Lee had been first and foremost in Remus' mind for the last few days, ever since he'd met her. Even though he'd only seen her once, and believed she couldn't possibly be related to Sable Robbins in any way, shape, or form, something kept knocking at the back of his mind, something saying that things were not right with the woman and her children. He just really hoped that Bill would get back with those files soon. Maybe then he would get a decent night of sleep.

"Well, everything seems to be in order here." Molly Weasley said a few minutes later, coming out of the door that Remus suspected led to the kitchen. "We'll have to bring in some supplies, but it does seem to be livable."

"How long has it been since anyone's lived here?" Tonks asked, picking up a little glass Rembrall off a shelf and examining it.

"Ms. Lee said that she and her children were here about six months ago." Dumbledore said gravely. "She sent word that everything should be in order, and that we should feel free to alter what is necessary with the exception of the private quarters of her family. Any rooms that are not to be disturbed will be locked. I have given her my word that we will abide by her wishes until such time that she decides to join us."

"When will she be here?" asked Kinglsey Shacklebolt, the tall black Auror who had helped Dumbledore and the Order during the fight against Voldemort in the Department on Mysteries. "We don't have much time on our hands."

"I should be receiving a final letter of acceptance or declination soon." Dumbledore answered. "But no matter what her decision, she has agreed to allow us to stay here for as long as needed."

"She's supporting us by proxy." Charlie commented. "Smart lady."

"That's well enough and good." Molly said firmly, taking command of the situation immediately. "This place is in desperate need of a good cleaning. Charlie, will you go get Ron and Ginny? They can help make this place livable because I know they are not working on homework."

"Yes, mum." Charlie said. He walked over to the fireplace and pulled some Floo powder out of a small canister, yelled _'The Burrow'_ and disappeared in a flash of green flame.

"The rest of us can get to work." Molly said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Didn't you say you had a meeting to attend, Albus? You must hurry or you are going to be late. The Wizengot does not like to be kept waiting."

"Yes, of course, my dear lady." Dumbledore said, bowing to the plump red head slightly. "I leave this in your capable hands." Molly nodded and gave a small smile.

"I'll do what I can." she answered. Dumbledore nodded to her and walked over to the fireplace after saying his goodbye's to everyone else. When Molly was sure that the headmaster was gone, and Charlie was pulling Ron and Ginny out of the fireplace, the Weasley matriarch set them all to work.

Kingsley and Tonks were sent to check upstairs, while Charlie was sent out back to check the greenhouses and other small buildings. Ron and Ginny, both who were quite ready to begin exploring the new headquarters, were separated and sent to different parts of the house, Ron to the dining and living rooms, and Ginny to the market to pick up some food and other neccessities. Remus, however, had been delegated to look around the library other small rooms off the main entrance into the house.

The library checked out fine. The only occupants of the room that would remotely pose a threat to anyone would be a small web of spiders that had taken shelter in the window sill. Remus shut the door and crossed over the room they had entered into, going for a small door with a brass handle. When he tried to open it, he found the door to be locked.

_'Must be one of the private rooms.' _he thought. He was about to walk away when the door creaked open. He wasn't sure if he should enter, but his curiosity about the woman who was being so generous to them was starting to get the best of him. He slowly pushed the door open, grimacing slightly when the hinges creaked.

Across the small room, Remus could make out the outline of the curtains against the window, and the shape of a large desk, along with three or four chairs. He walked over and pulled the tassle hanging from the curtains, allowing the small room to become illuminated by the daylight. A cursory look around showed him a similiar view of what he'd seen in the library. A desk and chairs, a few small couches along the walls, and row after row of books, manuscripts, newspapers, and periodicals of both the wizard and Muggle worlds. He looked a little closer and found that many of the book topics revolved around Potions and Herbology, which was not a real big surprise considering Dr. Lee's specialty as an Auror was Potions.

He made his was towards the desk, carefully navigating the floor and piles and piles of books surrounding the place. He began shuffling through what looked to be some order forms for potions ingredients and receipts when a jar to the desk sent a small, multifaceted crystal ball-like object to be knocked off its holder. He immediately picked up the glittering object and frowned, thinking that he was making enough noise to wake the dead. It was bad enough that he was in one of the places that Dumbledore had promised they would stay out of until further notice.

He didn't need to get caught snooping around the woman's house.

The small ball in his hand began to glow slightly, letting off a bluish-grey light. Remus looked down, not exactly sure as to what the object was, and beginning to wonder if picking it up was a mistake, when the room around him started spinning out of control.

The werewolf clutched to the desk underneath him, quickly tamping down his instinct to flee from the unknown situation. Instead, he closed his eyes and mouthed a silent prayer that he had not tripped some sort of defensive alarm, and that he wouldn't wind up somewhere in the middle of the Sahara desert.

When the spinning sensation finally stopped, and he could regain his ability to stand, Remus found himself standing inside an office. Everything around him was colored in black and white, and he quickly realized that the object he must have been holding was a sort of Pensieve. His assumptions were correct when he noticed that the people around him seemed completely unaware of his presence.

He recognized the man sitting at the desk as Augustus McFairway, the Minister of Magic before Fudge had been put into office. Acros from the dest, Remus noticed that Mad-Eye Moody was there, along with the mysterious Dr. Lee. He moved to a position next to the man sitting at the desk and listened in to what was being said.

"How do you lose papers on a criminal like him?" McFairway asked the assembled Aurors. "He's a madman! Not fit to walk the streets amongst everyday witches and wizards. Papers from the Wizengot do not just myseriously disappear!"

"The papers were delivered to you two days ago, sir." Dr. Lee said, her arms folded across her chest. "We have your signature that you received the letter from the delivery owl. Auror Moody and I were making the rounds at Azkaban when they were sent from the head guard. The man in question cannot be brought to justice without the court appointed papers, and you know it, Minister McFairway."

Remus suddenly felt a severe sense of guilt overflow him. He shook his head, trying to figure out why he felt guilty for being there. But he chalked it up to the fact that he was invading Dr. Lee's memories without her consent. His attention, however, was quickly brought back to the conversation at hand.

"I am well aware of our laws, Dr. Lee." the portly man said with a frown. "What I want to know is how they went missing in the first place. No one has been in this office in the past two days. How do things go missing when I wasn't here to accept them in the first place?"

"How should we know?" Moody grumbled. "We're not your bloody secretaries, McFairway."

"He can't be given the Dementor's kiss without the papers stating that the Wizengot ordered it." Dr. Lee said. "I won't let it happen, at least not during my shift."

"Have you forgotten who we are talking about, Doctor?" McFairway asked sarcastically. "We have witnesses saying they saw him do it. We need no other proof. And as Minister of Magic..."

"You have no say in the matter since the Wizarding Court took the case, Minister McFairway." she answered. "And I will not act on orders from you, and you alone, when you can't find the paperwork to back your claims up. I'm not going to lose my job and position in the International Wizarding Conferderate Council because I let the dementors have the man when I see no court appointed paper saying I am supposed to."

"He's a killer."

"Well, unfortunately for you, he will also have complete ownership of his soul until I see papers that state otherwise." she said firmly. "I'm not going to go against orders from my own superiors just because you want him as good as dead."

The guilt that Remus was feeling was swiftly replaced by anger when he looked at the face of the young woman standing across from the Minister of magic. He noticed that her hair was not as streaked with white as much as it had been the other day, nor was it nearly as long. Now, it was cut short and angled towards the back of her head. A few other subtle changes were apparent, but she all in all looked the same.

"Your tenure as the Azkaban inspector will soon be up, my dear." the Minister said with a frown a few moments later. "He will be brought to justice."

"She can't do anything until you produce the papers from the Wizengot, McFairway, and you bloody well know it!" Alastor Moody growled, his magical eye rolling around erratically. "She's covering her own arse."

"He's a threat." McFairway said. "The public is screaming for his blood."

"He's tucked away in one of the most highly guarded cells on the island." Dr. Lee said stonily. "He's not going anywhere for the time being." The portly man sat back and regarded the woman with an evil glare. Remus could feel the way she was angered beyond all bearing, and suddenly realized that the emotions he was feeling was not his own, but the Dr. Lee's.

"If I didn't know any better, Dr. Lee, I'd say you were helping the man escape his fate at the hands of the dementors." Augustus McFairway said. "You are being awful adamant about not handing him over. Why is that?"

"I'm following orders and regulation protocol." she said firmly, although Remus could tell she was lying by the sudden creeping fear he felt winding through him. "Like Auror Moody stated earlier, I'm covering my own ass. When I get my hands on the papers, I'll hand him over. Until then, he's not dementor fodder."

"Get out." Minister McFairway growled, pointing to the doorway. "I don't want to see or speak to you again, Dr. Lee."

"Well, unless you want Black to stay sane, then you're going to have to speak to me again, McFairway, as I am sure you are well aware of."

"Sirius Black is a killer." the Minister said again.

"And Muggles are not always sure of what they see, despite what they think." she retorted, turning to leave. "He keeps his soul until you produce the papers, Augustus, and that is my final word." Dr. Lee left the room quickly, and Remus followed, wondering exactly what part this woman played in the decision to keep Sirius from receiving the dementor's kiss. He'd often times wondered why his long time friend had never been given the kiss, but had chalked it up to pure luck.

When Dr. Lee was out of the office and down a deserted hallway in the Ministry building, she leaned against the wall and sank down. Remus watched as tears began to fill her eyes slowly and she wiped them away.

"Damn you Sirius Black." she muttered brokenly. "How many more times am I going to have to pull your ass out of the fire?"

Before Remus could process what she'd just said, he felt his surroundings whirling again, and he reached out to grab the closest solid thing nearest to him, which happened to be the brick wall of the building. When the swirling stopped, he found himself standing in a very familiar place of his school days.

The Potter family estate had become somewhat of a second home to him after he had met James and Sirius during his school years. But now, the happy place of his memories held nothing but a subdued sense of foreboding. From his position on a small knoll, Remus could see a scene that he had hoped to forget eventually.

He was back to the day when James and Lily had been buried in the familly graveyard on the outskirts of the family's property. Below him, he could see the gathered members of the original Order, along with some of James' extended family. Baby Harry was no where in sight, nor was Sirius Black.

Beside him, but a few feet away, Remus once again saw the short haired Dr. Lee. He could feel the sorrow and anger rolling off of the woman in waves, along with a longing to go down and comfort those standing below her. But he could also tell that something was holding her back. There were tears in her eyes once again, and this time, Remus was starting to wonder how she fit in to the equation.

He couldn't remember a girl named Mikayla from his years at Hogwarts. And he was relatively sure that he would remember if she had been one of Sirius' girlfriends. But then again, Sirius had went through so many girlfriends that it was possible Remus could have forgotten a dozen or so of the less memorable ones. And he could not remember Lily ever having a close friend by the same name.

No words were uttered from the woman's mouth as she watched the assembled people pay their last respects, and then watch the coffins be laid into the ground side by side. The only indication Remus had of her being within a close proximity of him was the changes in her emotions as the scene progressed. Anger, hurt, confusion, betrayal and love, were the only ones that he could identify. The rest were such a blur that he wondered if all woman had the capability to feel so much in such a short amount of time.

A few short moments later, the scene began to whirl away, and Remus found himself sitting in a familiar pub in Diagon Alley that he'd frequented many times before. He was surprised to see himself sitting at the bar, slumped over and laying on the counter top. It seemed apparent that he'd been trying to drown his sorrows away from the amount of shot glasses sitting in front of him. Somewhere behind him, he heard the tinkle of the bell at the door, announcing the arrival of another patron.

Remus looked out the window, noting the near fullness of the moon, and realizing that the memory him had probably just had the transformation into a werewolf the night before. As Remus watched, now utterly disgusted at the sight of himself drunk and talking to a shot glass he was holding, a woman came to sit on the stool next to him. He didn't recognize her off hand, but after a few moments, Remus realized that it was Dr. Lee, only this time she was sporting fire-red hair and brown eyes. The bartender handed her a drink, and she began sipping it slowly. Suddenly, his memory self jerked up from bowing his sleepy head, and effectively spilled a half empty bottle of whiskey onto her lap.

Memory Remus seemed to be completely offended by his error, and drunkenly grabbed at some napkins in an attempt to dry the alcohol off of her.

"Sorry, 'bout that." the memory Remus slurred slightly. "Didn' see ya there." The woman only smiled slightly and grabbed a handful of napkins as well, trying to dry the area on her clothes.

"It's okay, sir." she said, throwing the now soaked napkins across the bar and into the waste basket. "You all right over there?"

"Never better." memory Remus said, swaying slightly on his stool. "Your clothes a'right?"

"They'll survive." she said gently. Remus nodded, and started to sway again unconsciously. The red-headed Dr. Lee quickly reached out to steady the drunk man beside her, and Remus watched as she helped him to sit back up straight and lean over the bar. "I think it's about time you got out of here, hon."

"Huh?" memory Remus asked dumbly. The woman only smiled and shook her head, her brown eyes a mixture of compassion and understanding. "Wha' you say?" Remus watched as the lady pulled out enough money to cover her own drink and his latest shot, leaving it for the bartender.

"Let's get you out of here, hon." she said, helping him up off the stool and towards the door. "You're the biggest hazard to yourself right now."

"Why you care?" the drunken man slurred. "I don' even know you woman..."

"You remind me of someone I once knew. Someone very dear to my heart." she said quietly, a sad smile on her face. "And I hate to see such a good person make a big mistake."

Remus watched as his memory self and the strange woman walked out the door and into the sidewalk traffic. His head was a mix of confusion. Apparently this woman knew him. But that made absolutely no sense, considering the way she had reacted to him upon the initial meeting at the Department of Magic. The shapes around him started swirling again, and Remus wondered where he was going to be deposited at this time.

When the whirling stopped, he found himself standing in a cold hallway lined with prison cells. He looked around and saw a large number of black cloaked dementors gliding around the area. Luckily, he did not seem to be affected by them as the other prisoners were. He began walking down the hallway, looking into each of the cells and seeing the way the prisoners were huddled into the fetal position and shuddering violently. His attention was quickly diverted to where a prisoner was being pulled out of his holding cell by two Aurors, then being taken to a small room off to the side.

Remus followed behind them, and noticed that the two Aurors deposited the prisoner into a chair across from the desk and immediately left. Remus took the time to look at the prisoner more carefully, and was shocked to find that it was none other than Sirius Black. Behind him, the door swung open and Remus watched as Dr. Lee entered, seating herself behind the desk and looking at Sirius carefully. This time, her hair was longer, and more streaked with white, making him realize that this was the most recent memory as of yet.

"Mr. Black, I'm Dr. Mikayla Lee, an Auror for the American Department of Magic. I've got a few questions for you."

"What do you want?"

"I've been told that you believe that someone is at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that you desperately need to contact." she said simpy. "Why is that? Who are you looking for?"

"He's there I tell you!" Sirius said loudly, banging his fists on the desk. "I must get him!"

"Who is there, Mr. Black?" she asked patiently.

"Someone I should have killed thirteen years ago." the ragged man said fiercely.

"Harry Potter?" she asked.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew is dead, Mr. Black." she said simply. "You killed him thirteen years ago. So how do you propose that he is alive, and at Hogwarts? Surely, he would have been spotted by now. Lord knows the man is easy enough to spot in a crowd."

"You know him?" Sirius asked quickly, pinning her with a stare that would kill if it were possible.

"Unfortunately I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the little rat some years ago, Mr. Black." she said firmly, giving the man a pointed look. "But, I digress."

"He is a murderer." Black said. "He sold Lily and James Potter out to Voldemort!"

"All men are dogs, Mr. Black. Of that I am sure you are quite well aware of." she said, giving him another stern look. "People's loyalty can be bought just as easily as a new broomstick if the price is right." She stood from the chair and leaned over, pining the man with a withering look. "Listen to me, Mr. Black, and listen carefully. This people who run Azkaban are wrung tighter than a spring right now. Attacks are on the rise, and supposedly Voldemort is gaining power again. We are severly underhanded and short on time. We don't have the patience to deal with ridiculous accusations that Pettigrew is alive and well."

"What...."

"Listen to me, Black," she said venomously, her voice barely a whisper. "I've been working to keep you from getting the dementor's kiss since you've been put in here. I've lied, cheated, stole, and broken more rules than I care to mention so that you could keep your mind intact, or at least what's left of it."

"What are you getting at? I don't even know you, woman!"

"I find that hard to believe, Padfoot." she said pointedly. "By the way, how's Moony?"

"You.... Who the hell are you?"

"Someone who doesn't want to see you loose your sanity to those soul sucking son-of-a-bitches and wind up like the rest of these idiots in here." she barked. "Now listen to me, Black. I'm only saying this once." She sat back down and clasped her hands together. "There is trouble brewing. Voldemort is back and trying to gain power again. We're focusing all of our attention on him at the moment. In fact, most of the guards for this place are going to be gone a week from tomorrow. They're shipping out to help in a raid on the old Zabini mansion."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"Someone who doesn't think you betrayed your dearest and oldest friends." she said simply, rising from the chair when there was a knock at the window in the door. "Unfortunately, my time here is up." She turned and held out her hand to him, a silent gesture to shake hands. Remus saw Sirius' confusion, but the man followed through and shook her hand. Remus could see a small slip of paper pass from her hand to his before a man in Auror robes came in, along with the two who had brought Sirius in the interrogation room to begin with.

The guards grabbed the beraggled man and violently shoved him out of the room and back towards the holding cells.

"Did you find out anything?" the man standing beside Dr. Lee asked.

"He's just babbling." she said, lying beautifully. "The man has lost his marbles."

"Just what I thought." he said, walking towards the door. "You are free to leave when you are finished, Agent Bane."

"Thank you." she said. "I'll be on my way momentarily."

"Ma'am." he said, saluting her and walking out of the room. Remus watched as the woman slunk down into the chair she had vacated earlier, putting her head in her hands and letting out a groan of frustration.

"Damn you, Black." she cursed. "Damn you, you had better be right about this."

Remus was about to start questioning this woman's sanity when he felt the familiar pull that foretold of his change in location. Unfortunately, he quickly felt the grip of someone's hand on his shoulder as well.

When Remus' head quit spinning, he first noticed that he was no longer the only occupant of the room. Towering beside him was none other than Albus Dumbledore. And the headmaster did not look all too happy at the moment.

"Have a nice trip, Remus?" he asked gravely, allowing the still befuddled werewolf to sit down in a chair in order to regain his equilibrium. "I see you found Dr. Lee's Emotemorie sphere."

"Excuse me?" Remus asked.

"An Emotemorie sphere." he clarified. "It is a modified Pensieve of sort that allows not only the memories of its owner to be seen, the emotions that they were feeling at the moment as well. Quite fascinating objects they are."

A few moments later, when Remus was back to normal, he looked at the headmaster and frowned, his temper rising dramatically.

"Who is she, Albus?" he asked, pinning the man with a lethal stare. "Who is this woman? She knows me and she knew Sirius, but I don't remember anyone with her name. Who the bloody hell is she?"

"I am afraid that I cannot tell you who she is, Remus, as I was sworn to secrecy some time ago." the old man said sorrowfully. "Although I would chance to say that you have a good idea of it already."

"She died years ago, Albus." he said dissmissivly. "It's not Sable. It can't be. Even if it is, she would have contacted me before now."

"I am afraid that the events of that night were not as clear cut as the press would have liked it to be. Unfortunately, I was forbidden to tell you any more than I did at the time. She wouldn't let me." he said sadly. "But, I digress." The old man waved his wand and a set of folders appeared on the desk in front of them. "I do believe this is the information you commisioned Mr. Weasley into acquiring for you. Yes?"

"Yes." Remus said. "She seemed suspicious, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to check her out a little more thoroughly."

"Your questions will be answered." Dumbledore said. "I took the liberty of adding a few things that Dr. Lee had sent to me to be kept safely stored away until such a time as this. Suffice to say that there are only a hand full of people who are privy to this information." The old man shook his head and frowned deeply, as though he was reluctant to leave the folders behind. "Read them, Remus." Dumbledore said gravely, tapping the folders that sat on the desk top. "But keep one thing in mind before jumping to any sort of angered conclusions. Remember that a mother's love for her children will cause her to do many things that she would normally never do under other circumstances."

With that parting admonishment and warning, Dumbledore left the office and quietly shut the door behind him. Remus took a deep breath and reached for the topmost folder, hoping that what his instincts were telling him about the woman was true.

That she was Sable Robbins.

----------------------

Harry kicked a stone out of his way as he walked the streets in Magnolia Crescent. It was an unusually hot evening, and he had had enough of his aunt and uncle's incessent complaining about it. There had been a major heat wave in place for the last few days, and even fewer people had been braving the high temperatures to get out and do anything. But he was sick of being inside.

Things had been unnaturally quiet in the Dursley house as of lately, and he was beginning to wonder why. Even his Aunt Petunia had not been ordering him around with chores like she normally did. But what had really topped it off was the fact that his Uncle Vernon and Dudley refused to even acknowledge the fact that he existed anymore.

_'No big loss there.' _Harry thought as he turned a corner and began walking towards the park. A block or so down, he noticed a crowd of boys standing in a circle and snickering, kicking at something. He walked a little closer and realized that the six or so boys, which included his cousin Dudley, were teasing and taunting one of the neighborhood kids, Mark Evans.

The little boy, who was no more than seven or eight years old, was huddled up in a ball, trying valiantly not to cry as the older boys jabbed and teased him mercilessly. Harry's temper shot through the roof and he walked over to the group, stomping loudly on the ground to gain their attention. By the time he was about six feet from the group, one of the boys -a big boy with thin black hair and a horrible complexion- saw him and nudged Dudley in the ribs.

"Well, if it isn't Crazy Potter." the black headed boy said with a sneer. "What are you doing out here, Crazy? Looking for your imaginary friend?"

"Actually yeah, I was." Harry said. "I figured he was playing with yours. Haven't seen them around have you?"

"Why you scrawny little...."

"What do you want?" Dudley asked, stepping beside his accomplice as the others melted away and formed a circle around the two cousins. "Shouldn't mom and dad have you locked up somewhere for the good of the neighborhood."

"Sorry, but the pig-sty is for you, Dudley." Harry said, cocking his head to one side in a silent motion for the little Evans boy to get the heck out of there. "No more room, and I wouldn't want to impose on your territory." Dudley's huge double chinned jaw set and his hands clenched into fists. Harry had realized a while ago that Dudley was afraid of him, more so now than before. And he relished the change in position from taunted to tauntee. "You alright, Dudley? Your face is getting awful red. Maybe you need to go inside and cool down before you fry the few braincells you have left in that thick head of yours."

"Big D, you gonna let him talk to you like that?" asked one of the boys.

"Beat him into the ground." said another one. "Show him who's boss around here!"

"Get him, D. He can't beat you. Look how scrawny he is." called another. Harry just waited for his cousin to respond. He decided to make things a little worse, and casually pulled his wand out of his pocket, effortlessly twirling it between his fingers with a bored look on his face. Dudley's eyes widened in stark fear and he unconsciously took a step backward.

"You can't use that." he growled. "You're not allowed."

"Rules change, Dudders." Harry said, cocking his head to one side. "After what happened last summer, I can do whatever I want. So do your worst, if you dare." Dudley just shook his head and unclenched his fists.

"You're not worth it." he stated loudly, surprising his little gang of followers.

"What?"

"Big D?"

"You feelin' okay there, D?"

"I'm fine." Dudley growled back, glaring at his gang. "You got a problem with it?" After a loud murmur of dissent, Dudley turned back to his cousin, and was about to say something when the loud voice of Mrs. Figg brought them all to attention.

"Harry, dear!" she called, ambling up the sidewalk towards them, her carpet bag banging against her legs. "Just the young man I needed to speak with." Before she could reach where they were all standing, Dudley and his gang and started walking off, not wanting to deal with the crazy cat lady. When Mrs. Figg finally got to Harry's side, she gave him a warm smile and a pat on the back. "Alright, dear?"

"Fine." Harry said, shrugging. "Just out for a walk. How're you?"

"Fine, fine." she said quickly. "But there is something I want to show you. Come with me." Harry nodded and followed her back to her house. Once inside, Harry managed to push his way through the myriad of cats until he could sit down on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him were old copies of _The Daily Prophet_ as well as old copies of the local newspaper. "Have you been reading the paper lately, Harry?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't." Harry answered truthfully. "My Aunt and Uncle tend to through it away after reading it, and I haven't been able to get my hands on it."

"Have a look at this, then." she said, throwing him a local newspaper from the day before. Harry scanned over the headlines, and a chill went up his spine.

**_'THREE FOUND DEAD IN FOREST OUTSIDE OF CITY' _**Harry scanned over the accompanying article and shook his head. Apparently, three middle aged men had been found dead on the outskirts of the city, right along the forest. The circumstances surrounding them were suspicious, since no sign of a struggle could be found. He skipped down to the next heading and frowned even harder.

**_'LAW ENFORCERS BELIEVE IT TO BE THE WORK OF A CULT'_**

It appeared that the very same day, two other bodies had been found around Devonshire, but this time, they had been drained of all blood and bodily fluids. He skimmed over this article as well, then placed it on the table in front of him and looked back up to where Mrs. Figg was sitting in an overstuffed easy chair, petting one of her numerous cats.

"What is going on?" Harry asked.

"No one knows, I'm afraid." she said sadly. "But we do know for a fact that two of the people in the first attack were wizards, and the other was a Squib. The ones that had been drained of all blood were pure Muggle though, but the Dark Mark was found floating above them."

"Death Eater attacks." Harry said, receiving a quick nod from the woman across from him. "But why?"

"We don't know." Mrs. Figg said, shaking her head. "But Dumbledore sent me word that you should be careful, Harry. Extra careful. It looks like these idiots are purposely trying to draw attention to themselves."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Harry said. "Has Snape been able to tell you anything useful?"

"Severus has not been needed at the last few meetings, or so we've been told." she said. "It seems like Voldemort is becoming suspicious of his actions and is questioning his loyalties, and testing them."

"Was he involved in the attacks on these people?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the paper.

"Thankfully, no." Mrs. Figg said, sighing dramatically and stroking the cat in her lap, a multi-colored tabby that reminded him of Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form.

"You wouldn't happen to know when I'll be getting out of this place, do you?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.

"By the end of the week at the latest." she said. "You should hear something by then."

"Well, that's something to look forward to at least." he groused. Mrs. Figg was about to say something when a clock behind her chimed seven. She quickly got a horrified look on her face and stood up from her seat, dislodging the tabby that had been sitting in her lap.

"Oh, dear me!" she exclaimed. "Look at the time. It is almost dusk. Harry, you must return to your Aunt and Uncle's house before nightfall. Dumbledore believes that if you are within the confines of the house after dusk, you will not be tagged as a possible target. Hurry on, now dear." She shooed him out the door and towards his Aunt and Uncle's house. "Remember," she called out. "Stay out of trouble." Harry just waved back and shook his head, wondering if the old woman was really losing her mind.

The information she had given him was sketchy at best. The attacks on the two groups of people seemed to be completely random. As he walked back to his temporary home, he pieced over the clues and the information he'd gathered from the paper she'd shown him. It didn't take a genius like Hermione to figure out that something was going on, but he just couldn't figure out what. Right before he started walking up the driveway towards 4 Privett Drive, Harry felt his scar tingle slightly.

"He's up to something." Harry muttered, looking around him to see if there was anyone else about. "Who are you going after now, you damned murderer? And what are you up to?"

----------------------

Dr. Lee was sitting at her desk, going over some majorly overdue paperwork later that evening when there was a knock on the wood. She groaned, not really wanting to be disturbed from her work, but getting up anyway. She'd just tell whoever it was to come back later and she'd talk to them. Her secretary had left a few hours before, and she was not sure as to who the visitor was. She called out for the person to come in, and was somewhat surprised to see her eldest son standing on the other side, looking more serious than she had seen him in quite some time.

"Ailric, what are you doing here, baby?" she asked, going back into the office and motioning him to come in and take a seat, which he did. "I thought you were going over to Brandon's house this evening to play Quidditch with him and his brothers. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, mom." he said. "Uh, there's something I want to talk to you about. You got some free time?" Sable nodded and put the overdue paperwork to the side. Heck, it was already late, no point in rushing to get it finished, right?

"What's going on?" she asked, settling back into her chair. "What's on your mind? New girlfriend?"

"Hardly." he said with a frown. "I wanted to talk to you about us going back to England." She sat up straight and took a deep breath. She'd been waiting for this to come around for the past few days. She knew Ailric could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and she fully expected him to tell her that he wasn't going to go back. So it was quite a shock when he said, "I think we should go. I think it is for the best, after all."

"Well," she said. "this is quite a surprise. I had expected you to turn me down flat. Why the sudden change of heart, son?"

"I thought about it for a long time....after I left here the other day." the boy said. "I guess...well...I just realized that I would want to go back if it were me in your shoes. Granted, me, Gabe, and Sis never really had all that many friends considering our being lycans, but....I'd do it if it were me." He stood up and walked over to the window, seeing the slowly setting sun along the horizon. "You raised us on the stories of you and your friends. And when the Potter's died, I know it took a big piece of your heart, mom. You're still loyal to them, even though you're not there. And now that Black is gone, after all you done to keep him from getting the dementor's kiss for so long, Lupin is the only one left besides Pettigrew. You need to go back, mom. You need to finish what you started so long ago......and we need to be there to help you."

Dr. Lee's eyes were watering by the time he turned back around and faced her. Ailric's face turned horrified when he saw that she was on the verge of crying, and he walked over kneeled down in front of her. "Mom, I didn't mean to make you upset, you know."

Dr. Lee laughed and shook her head, hugging her son tightly and fighting back the tears of happiness that threatened to spill over.

"I'm okay, Ailric. I'm fine." she said. "You just surprised me, that's all."

"Huh?"

"I honestly thought you'd want to stay here." she said. "I haven't even sent Dumbledore my letter saying I would accept the position yet because I was afraid you wouldn't want to go."

"You would have stayed here, just because of me?" he asked, shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving my babies." she said smiling down at him. "I need you three around me to feel sane."

"We're not babies anymore, mom." he said.

"You'll always be my babies." she said, smiling."Thank you, Ailric."

"For what?" he asked, standing up and leaning against her desk.

"For understanding me so well." she said. "There was only one other person that could do that."

"Really? Who?"

"Your dad." she said quietly. The two of them lapsed into a silence for a while before Dr. Lee spoke again. "You do realize that when we go back, he's going to find out. If he hasn't put it together already, that is."

"I know. I thought about that too." Ailric confessed. "Quite a while, in fact."

"And?"

"Well, there's not much he can do about us now, is there?" Ailric asked, shrugging his shoulders. "All three of us are lycans, he can deal with it I'm sure considering he is one too. Snape's reaction is the one I want to see. That anal retentive bastard is going to blow his top!"

"I wasn't talking about that, and you know it." she said firmly, grasping his hands with her own and looking him straight in the eyes. "Ailric, please tell me that you'll at least give him a slight chance if he's willing. It's not his fault he doesn't know about us, that blame belongs on me."

"It's just as much our fault too." he said stonily. "We didn't want either of them to find out about us. I guess we figured we would never have to face them."

"I am sorry, Ailric." she said sadly. "But I can't help what happened, nor what brought you three into my life. All I can say is that I did what I thought was right at the time given the circumstances."

"I know." he said. "I know. We all do." Dr. Lee only nodded and reached out to gather him into a hug, when a sharp pain through her stomach caused her to double over and drop to the ground. Ailric was right at her side immediately, pulling her hair out of her face and trying to find out what was wrong.

"Mom?" he questioned, watching as the woman in his arms broke out into a cold sweat and her face turned as pale as death. Her arms were firmly wrapped around her waist and she was shivering as if she were freezing. "Mom, what's going on? What's wrong with you?" A few seconds later, she stopped shivering and leaned into him for support. "Mom, you're scaring me here. Talk to me, will you?"

Dr. Lee took a few deep breaths and steadied herself enough to get to her feet with the assistance of her son. She plopped down in her chair and wiped the beads of perspiration off of her face. She looked up at Ailric and saw the worry in his blue eyes.

"Mom?"

"I'm fine, honey." she said, grimacing. "He's calling them."

"What?" he asked. "Your Mark is acting up? Since when?"

"A few months ago." she said sadly. "I hadn't said anything because I didn't want to worry you three."

"You still feel his calling, even after all these years?" Ailric asked. "I thought it would have faded by now."

"It doesn't fade, baby." she said sadly. "Once you've got this thing, you've got it for life."

"Is there anything I can do? Are you still hurting?"

"No, it's gone now. I'll be fine in a few minutes." she said. "You should get on home. It's late, and you've got packing to do if we're going to leave in the next few days."

"Are you alright, though? What does Voldemort want now? Does he know where you are?" Ailric asked quickly, his concern growing more and more.

"I'm fine. As for what he wants, I don't know. But I get the feeling he's royally pissed at the moment. Don't ask me why." she said, shaking her head. "And no, he can't find me. I fixed that problem a long, long time ago."

"You sure?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing her for any sign that she was lying to him.

"Hey, give me some credit, young man!" she teased. "He hasn't found me yet, has he?"

"Point taken." he answered. "You sure you're okay, mom."

"Fine, honey." she said, a small smile on her face. "Now let's get out of here, huh?"

"I thought you had work to do?" he asked, eyeing the pile over paperwork stamped 'OVERDUE'. She caught his eye and grinned. "Not a worry. It's for Worthings, he'll get over it. Besides, I have the distinct feeling that you aren't going to let me out of your sight for a while, now that you know about my Mark acting up."

"Once again, your instincts prove correct." he jibed. "Must come with age, huh mom?"

"Very funny, young man. Just remember that I know more curses, hexes, and jinxes than you ever will, and I'm not afraid to use them." Just to prove her point, she pulled out her wand and aimed it at him.

"You'd take on Salem's duel-team captain, would you?" he asked, pulling his own wand out and snickering. "You'd loose."

"Ah, but that captain needs to remember who taught him all those neat little hexes he so loves to use." she pointed out. "And trust me, there is a couple of bad ones that I have yet to show you, Mr. Captain. Do you really want to try your luck?" Ailric blanched and put his wand away, not wanting to provoke her into hexing him. The last time she had, he'd been waddling around school for a week and a half because of some precariously placed boils and welts.

"Not now, thanks though." he said, putting his wand back in his pocket.

"That's what I thought." she said, smiling at him as she replaced her wand and grabbed her briefcase. "Let's get out of here, huh? We'll grab some take out from that Chinese restaurant you like so much. How's that sound?"

"If it'll save me from Sis' cooking, I'm all for it." he said. "She might be able to brew a half decent potion, but she can't cook worth a flip." Dr. Lee just grinned and walked out of the room with her son in tow, hiding beautifully the fact that the Mark around her waist was throbbing angrily with every pulse of her blood.

Oh, yeah, Voldemort was mad. And she knew someone was going to die tonight.

-----------------------

_**A/N - Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of this story. The next one is already half wrote, so it shouldn't be long before it is out.**_

_**Until then, **_

_**Later,**_

_**A.A.**_

_**P.s. Oh, and please remember to review. I want to know what you think. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaiemr - It's not mine. The only characters I own are Sable and her family. Everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money is being made off of this work of fiction._

_Special thanks to:_

_**Sarah** - Thanks for the review. And don't worry about the relationship bit. Things are going to get heated, in more ways than one. The Trio's reactions are going to be...well, you'll see. Oh, and thanks for pointing out the spelling error. Apparently my computer is not Harry Potter literate. :)_

_**Lothliana **- Yeah, that part was sad, wasn't it. And thanks for the confidence in the story. _

_**wolvesaremylife1** - I'm one of your favorites? (blushes) Thanks. I'm glad you like the Emotemorie sphere. And yes, the plot thickens. Hang on to your pants, things are about to get even more complex._

_**AnGeL-GiRl-XxX**-You'll find out why the door opened in this chapter. Thanks for the review, by the way. Hope you enjoy this chapter._

_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 5_

_Confrontations_

Remus walked down the sidewalk and towards the looming building along the horizon that was his destination. He'd gotten the files from Albus about Dr. Lee and her family the day before, and been able to piece together what he believed was the truth, and come to terms with what he'd found out.

What he'd found in the folders Albus had brought him had shocked him to the core. It was readily apparent after reading through the information Bill had got, along with the folder that Dumbledore had given him, that Dr. Mikayla Lee was in all actuality Meadow Sabriel Robbins, his old girlfriend who had been targeted by Death Eaters during their final year at Hogwarts. She was the very some woman who had later disappeared and been proclaimed dead right before their graduation in seventh year. She was also the one who had began the preliminary research into the Wolfsbane Potion, and the one who had gotten it legalized a few years back.

His mind was complete chaos from then on. When he'd first put the pieces together, he had been more angry than he'd ever felt, except possibly when he'd found out that Lily and James had been killed. The fact that the one woman he had ever cared deeply for was actually still alive and doing well still through him for a loop. He'd confronted Dumbledore with his findings and assumptions, but the old man had not given him any answers, only telling him to go talk to her and question her himself; and that was only when he wasn't talking in circles to begin with.

He'd gotten angry then, realizing that it was possible that Dumbledore had always known that she was alive and where she was. His anger had then doubled when he ralized the she had never even tried to contact him after everything had settled down.

But then he remembered the three children he had met on his initial trip to the Department of Magic. The young woman, Sabine, was an exact copy of Sable. Even her expressions had been reminescent of the love of his teenage years. Ailric, on the other hand, looked just like him, with the exception of his hair, which had been a shade or two darker than his own brown. And Gabe...

It was then that Remus' anger had reached it breaking point.

The point where he had flown off the hook and stormed out of Dumbledore's office in a fit of rage.

Gabriel Lee was Severus Snape's son if there ever was one. He had the same long, dark hair, and slightly pale skin. The same overly serious expressions and forced politeness that had set Snape apart from even his own housemates during his school years. The only difference from the boy and his father was the nose. Gabe's nose was short and straight, as compared to Snape's long and hooked nose.

All around him, people passed by him, going along on their day to day duties. Remus saw a young witch standing outside a book shop and talking to a toddler in yellow robes. In her arms, there was another young child, no more than six months old, who was drinking from a bottle of milk. Beside her, a wizard with Department of Magic robes was playing with the toddler, tickling him and teasing him with a piece of candy.

The werewolf shook his head and frowned, thinking of the times that Sable must have gone through while raising her own children, and wishing he'd have been there to help.

When he got to the doors of the Department of Magic, he took a calming breath and clutched the folders in his hands, along with the small, leatherbound book in his hands. The very book he'd held onto for years. He waited to be checked by the security wizards, then proceeded to go up to the floor where Dr. Lee's office resided.

When the doors of the elevator opened, Remus stepped into the waiting room and looked around. No one was sitting at the secretay's desk, but he could hear the subdued voices of the occupants within. He took a few more deep breaths, and tried to settle himself down. A few minutes later, the door opened and all three of Dr. Lee's children stepped out, followed closely by their mother, along with a flutter of multiple pairs of wings.

Remus stood up and faced them, forcibly reigning his emotions under control at the various looks of surprise, shock, and knowing enlightenment upon the three children's faces, and the lok of utter fear on Dr. Lee's face.

"Mr. Lupin." Sabine said, regaining her composre quickly and walking toward him after depositing a snowy owl with grey markings on a nearby perch. "Pleasure to see you again, sir. What brings you back so soon?"

"I need to speak with your mother." he said, staring right towards the fidgeting woman in the doorway.

"We were just leaving for lunch." Ailric said stoically, crossing his arms and stepping closer to his mother. "You'll have to come back in a few hours."

"Ailric, calm down." Dr. Lee said, putting a hand on the taller boy's shoulder as if to placate him before any nasty words could come forth. Unfortunately, the young man did not seem to want to be placated, and he shrugged off Dr. Lee's hand and continued to glare at Remus.

"I am afraid this is rather important." Remus said, turning his attention to the young man who he seriously suspected to be his own son.

"Would you like us to go ahead, mother?" Gabe asked Dr. Lee. "We will save you a seat at the cafe." Remus regarded the boy with a sort of cold contempt, waiting for her to answer.

"Do that for me, please." Dr. Lee said, using her hand to dislodge the eagle owl on her shoulder and put it on the perch next to the snowy owl. Remus saw her eyes widen when he laid the worn leather book on the desktop. "On second thought, I am afraid what Mr. Lupin and I have to discuss is going to take a while."

"I would say that, yes." Remus commented dryly. "It definitely borders on a very serious topic."

"As I expected." Dr. Lee said. She looked back at the three teenagers around her and smiled slightly. "I want you three to take Malon and Assyria home with you. Also, stop by the owlery and make sure to get Dune and Seraph enough food. Get their things packed, and I'll be home soon. And don't forget Kojack's stuff either, or Bandit's."

"Or Freaky's." Ailric said.

"What about Sari and Ariayan?" Sabine asked, nodding towards the office door.

"Sari is ready." Gabe said. "I took care of her earlier."

"And Ariayan?" Sabine asked, turning to her brother.

"Take her with you." Dr. Lee said. Gabe nodded and gave a sharp whistle, ending it in a high pitched trill. The people in the room atched as a silvery-blue phoenix came out of the office and landed on Gabe's offered arm.

"Well, that's all our brood." Sabine said, a business like tone in her voices as she opend a small window and told the two owls perched on her desk to go straight home, along with the phoenix on her brother's arm. "We'll be going, then. It was good to see you again, Mr. Lupin. Goodbye."

"We are not leaving mom here with..." Ailric began, only to be cut off by his sister.

"Oh, yes, we are. We've got work to do, and mom has to talk with Mr. Lupin."

"Yeah, but..."

"Without us." Gabe said pointedly.

"She's my mother!" Ailric said stubbornly.

"Ours, too." Gabe said. "Or where do you think we came from, chicken eggs?"

"Hmph!"

"Oh, grow up already, will you?" Gabe asked.

"That's enough, you two." Sabine said, playing mediator between the two boys.

"Your sister is right, boys." Dr. Lee said firmly. "Out, all of you."

"But, mom...he's..."

"You heard her, brother dear." Sabine said, reaching up to grab Ailric's ear and yank him forcefully down to her height. "We're leaving. And you can unball that fist you've got raised as well, or I'll hex you so fast you'll never give me nieces and nephews."

Remus was quite amazed to see the young man immediately uncurl his hand and allow himself to be pulled out of the room with his sister and brother, still muttering a colorful string of obscenities. He glanced over to where Dr. Lee was smiling gently at the antics of the three teenagers. He cleared his throat and watched as her countenance went from relaxed and welcoming to defensive and cold. She nodded and turned on her heel, walkig back to her office and silently gesturing for Remus to follow her.

Remus followed her in, and sat at the chair across her desk, placing the journal on the desktop , then sitting back expectently, not truly trusting himself to speak. Apparently, Dr. Lee, who had moved to a large window and was currently fiddling with a locket on her neck, decided to break the awkward silence.

"Figured it out, did you?" she asked, not looking at him. "I'm not really surprised. You were always the smart one, Remus."

"Why?" he asked, the anger in his voice barely contained. "Why didn't you tell me? I've spent the last sixteen years thinking you were dead, and now I find you here in America, working and raising children as if nothing ever happened!"

"I'm sorry." she said. "I truly am. But I done what I had to. I couldn't tell you; I couldn't tell anyone. I know the apology isn't enough, but it's all I can give you at the moment. That, and the truth. I just couldn't tell anyone I was still alive back then, Remus."

"Why not?" he asked coldly. "What was so important that you could never find the time to mention that you weren't dead. It's been sixteen years. I'm pretty sure you've had a few spare moments at some time since then."

"I think the health of my unborn children would have been a good reason." she said defensively.

"Explain." he said coldly.

"There was a bounty on my head after the attack." she said quietly. "I couldn't go back, or I'd have been killed the second one of Voldemort's cronies set their eyes on me. No one escapes the Dark Lord and lives, and they didn't want a mangy, full blooded bitch like me to be the first. I had my family to think about."

"Your family?" he asked. "Don't you think I might have fallen into that category? I don't believe you, Sable. I never heard of a bounty on your head!" The woman across from him frowned and reached into her desk, pulling out a small bottle with a stopper and an eye dropper. "What's that?"

"Vertiserum." she said shortly. "I'm sure you know what that is, right."

"Yes."

"Good, then you know what it does." she said. Remus watched as she pulled the eyedropper out and stuck out her tongue, placing four drops on her tongue and then shutting her mouth. "Happy now, I can't lie to you."

"How do I know it's Vertiserum, and not just water?" he asked skeptically.

"Ask me something." she said.

"Fine, what's your name?"

"Meadow Sabriel Robbins." she said. "Ask me something I would lie about, Remus. You're not going to be happy until you do, and I know it."

"Did you go to school with me?"

"Yes."

"Where was your dormitory."

"I didn't have one, I had a laboratory and a bedroom off the Defense Against the Dark Arts Corridor." she said, frowning. "Come on, Remus, you know all this already."

"When you first went back to Hogwarts in your seventh year, and I told you to stay away from the Shrieking Shack, why'd you go there anyway?"

"I was pissed because everyone was trying to tell me what to do." she said. "And I was too stubborn to listen to common sense." Remus seemed to believe that, but he went on.

"You once said you weren't afraid of me, Sable." he said, eyeing her closely. "Are you scared now?"

"Terrified." she muttered, her head hanging in front of her. Remus' head shot up, and he looked at her carefully. The Sable he remembered hated admitting when she was frightened. She had to be telling the truth. The woman in front of him was on the verge of crying, and he knew it. She was...well, he wasn't sure exactly what she was. All he knew was that he was mad at her, more so than he had ever thought he could be.

"Why?" he asked. "Why are you scared of me?"

"Because I haven't seen you in so long." she said. "And because after I tell you what you came here to find out, I doubt you'll ever want to speak with me again, if you don't kill me first."

"You've got some explaining to do, Sable." he said, apparently satisfied that she was telling the truth.

"I know." she said desperately. "There was more to what happened than what you know."

"Well, I'm trying to understand." he said loudly, rising to his feet fluidly and sliding the yellowed journal across the desk to her. "But you're not helping me all that much if you won't tell me! Quit dodging the story, the truth, and tell me, Sable!"

"Okay," she said, holding up her hands placatingly in front of her. "Okay. You win. I'll tell you; you deserve that much at least. Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning is always a good place." he said stoically.

"Well, get comfortable. This is going to take a while."

"I'm in no hurry. Start talking." Remus said flatly.

"Fine." she answered, her fingertips on the four tiered pendant at her neck. "The night we were captured, I was taken to another room by Flint and Avery, this was after they had put us in the cell together. Snape was waiting there, along with Lucius Malfoy. I had been _'assigned' _to Snape for my _'instruction' _time. Anyway, to make a long story short, Snape raped me in front of about half a dozen other Death Eaters, althoughI don't think he enjoyed it all that much, if you know what I mean."

"Dirty bastard..."

"He didn't have a choice, Remus." Sable sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Understand that now, before I go any further. It was either do what they expected and prove he was on their side, or not do it and raise suspicions, therefore probably killing us all."

"How'd you get pregnant?" he asked. "I put the anti-conception spell on you less than eight hours before that. That spell lasts at least twelve hours."

"There's the kicker." Sable said. "Snape done the same thing, only with a different spell. My theory is that they cancelled each other out somehow, instead of strengthening each other. And I'm not going to give you a biology lesson because I'm sure you know where babies come from. Suffice to say, a little over eight months later, my children were born."

"You told me you didn't know who it was that had hurt you." he said accusingly. "You lied to me."

"What good would it have done if you'd have known, Remus?" she asked, shaking her head. "It would have just made you angrier, and at the time we needed to have our heads on straight."

"It wasSnape that helped us get out of that place that night, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes." she answered. "By the time they had separated us, Dumbledore already knew what had happened to us.That's when he got ahold of the Ministry and came after us. Snape's been spying on Voldemort longer than you realize, and for that I am grateful."

"What happened after that?After the raid was over? The explosion?"

"Ah, the explosion." she said, nodding. "By the time Moody, Phillastine, and myself got to the dungeons, Flint had managed to escape, or so we thought. We went in to get my mom and dad, but the doors had apparently been booby trapped. The second we opened the cell door, it was like a chain of bombs went off, completely demolishing the dungeons. The three of us managed to get halfway up the stairs when Phillastine holllered something about Apparating out, and Moody said that the only ones who could do that had to be marked Death Eaters."

"So you Apparated them to the entrance and went back to get your mom and dad?" Remus guessed, filling in the story a little more.

"Yeah, but I ran into a very messed up Flint when I got down there. Apparently the potion Snape gave me that I poured down his throat had a large concentration of alihosty leaves in it. And you know what that does to a person."

"Hysteria." Remus confirmed. "Dementia. They go crazy."

"Exactly." she said. "We dueled each other until the ceiling collapsed. I tried to Apparate out, but my sense of direction wasmessed up, and I was so scared that I wound up back in Godric's Hollow. I won't lie, I was in bad shape, Remus. I figured I would stay there until I recovered a little, and then try to get back to Hogwarts, but it seemed as though Voldemort knew where I would be because the Death Eater wound up stomring my house a few hours after I got there. It was then that I figured out the Mark he had given me doubled as a tracking device."

"Then?"

"I thought about the farthest place away from them I could, and Apparated." she said, shaking her head. "I wound up on the steps to this very building. I was exhausted and close to death from Apparating so far on my own. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out how I didn't wind up splinched somewhere between here and there. The Head of the Department put me under tight spervision after I told him what happened, and I went into hiding for about a two months, until things calmed down. We figured out how to cut of the tracking aspects of the Mark a few weeks later. It was about that time I figured out I was pregnant. And, well, I panicked."

"That's not like you."

"Yeah, well, everyone has an off day." she said sarcastically. "Anyhow, I was going to return to Hogwarts, but we got word that the Death Eaters had put a hefty bounty on my head and were eager to collect. I would have went back, had it not been for the fact that I knew I was pregnant. So, I waited."

"That night of graduation." Remus said. "How'd you do that? Down in your lab, I saw you down there."

"It was an illusion." she said sadly. "A couple fancy potions, and spells. Nothing more. I was controlling the spectre from another place in the castle. In fact, I was in the passageway that led up to Gryffindor Tower, behind Agrippa's portrait."

"And the wolf the next day?" he asked, shaking his head, not really wanting to believe her story, all though it seemed almost believable to him. "Ladriel?"

"That was me." she admitted. "I knew you knew about the legend, and I figured it might set your mind at ease."

"Believe it or not, that actually worked." he said dryly. "After that?"

"I started working here at the Department." she said, shrugging. "And started getting reeady to have my four children. I wound up changing my name, and hiding the truth about what I was and what had happened. By the time my babies turned two..."

"Four children?" Remus asked. "I've only met three."

"You wouldn't have met the other baby." Sable said solemnly. "She died shortly after she was born, during a full moon."

"I'm sorry." he said.

"Don't give me that line of bullshit, Remus." she fumed. "You knew about Savannah when you walked in here."

"Dumbledore knew, didn't he? He knew you hadn't died."

"At first, he thought I was gone, just like everyone else. He didn't know I was still alive until a month or so after I disappeared." she said. "When I found out I was carrying half a Quidditch team in my womb, I got in touch with him. I explained what had happened, and asked him not to tell anyone."

"Even me?"

"Yes, although he urged me to tell you of the pregnancy, I refused." she said sadly. "I thought I was protecting you, by not telling you."

"I can't believe that." he said. "You thought you were protecting me?"

"I done what I thought was right at the time." she said. "I was not going to sacrifice my children."

"You could have told me." he said. "I could have protected you from them. There were ways that you could have come back..."

"Do you honestly think I hadn't exhausted Every. Single. Possibiliy?" she ground out, her own anger rising. "I tried, Remus. The only other possibilty after everything was said and done was the_ Fidelius_ charm."

"And?" he said. "We could have done that. You'd have been safe."

"I had thrown that possibility out, up until my children were about two years old." she said. "By that time, I was seriously thinking about it. But that Halloween, when James and Lily were killed, I turned back. I lost my nerve. I couldn't do it after that."

"Yet you could still stand to come back to England and work there?" Remus said. "Explain that, will you?"

"If it not been for Sirius getting charged with the murder of James and Lily and then getting thrown into Azkaban, I probably never would have stepped foot back on that island." she said. "When I found out who they had implicated, I knew something had to be done, especailly when they said that Sirius was guilty of killing Peter."

"You kept him from getting the Dementor's kiss." Remus said accusingly. "You're the one that kept stealing the paperwork and losing it. You're also the one who helped him get out of Azkaban when he found out that Peter was back at Hogwarts, posing as Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers." Sable only nodded, giving Remus a half grin.

"You found the my Emotemorie sphere, I see. But yes, I am the one who told Sirius how and when to get off the island fortress. The piece of paper I slipped him during our last meeting told him when security would be laxed, and how he could get out." she said, shaking her head. "I figured you would once Dumbledore let you into the house. I am just glad it was you, instead of someone else. But then again, no one else would have been able to get into that office, except you. I made sure of that."

"You knew I was going to be in there?" he said. "How?"

"When I gave Dumbledore the keys to the house at Haven's Hallow, and told him that he could use it for the Order's headquarters, I was not even sure I would be going back to England, at that time. I hadn't discussed it with my children yet." she said. "But I knew that it was time for you to know the truth. So, I took a portkey to England not long after you left here with Bill and Albus that day. I went to the house and planted the Emotemorie sphere in the office. Then, I charmed the door to open when you, and only you, touched it. I knew it wouldn't take you long to figure it out from there."

"What about the other memories?" he asked. "James and Lily's funeral?"

"I was there." she said. "As you well know."

"That night in the pub at Diagon Alley?" he asked. "You were there. You even talked to me. What were you doing there? Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

"Do you remember when that was, Remus?" she asked. "I'll tell you. It was two days after the full moon, May 28, 1992. I was at the Ministry, going over the legalization of the Wolf'sbane potion for everyday use. They had passed it as safe, and I was there to answer questions about it and the such. Of course, I couldn't go as myself, so I changed the way I looked. Running into you was pure conincidence. I saw you from outside the pub, you were so trashed, I'd be surprised you even remember what I looked like." she said. "So I decided to get you the hell out of there before you gave yourself alcohol poisoning. Even if I had told you who I was, you wouldn't have remembered it. You were too far gone."

"I didn't." he said. "I don't even remember that night. How many other times have you been in England, and you never even tried to contact us?"

"More times than I can count." she said sadly. "I've seen you more times than I want to admit to, on sidewalks, in stores, even in Hogsmeade when you were teaching at Hogwarts."

"And you never said anything." he asked. "Never?"

"How could I?" she asked. "I tried to protect what was left of my friends from school the best way I could, without being discovered."

"How?" he asked. "Besides keeping Sirius from losing his soul, and getting the Wolfsbane potion leagalized, what else have you done? Where else have you interferred?"

"A bunch of different places." she said. "My work with the Ministry is quite extensive." She got up from her chair and walked over to a file cabinet, pulling out a number of think files and placing them on the desk between her and Remus. "Have a look at these."

"What are they?" he asked.

"Papers that have surprisingly come up missing from the Ministry." she said with a cat like grin. "Papers that have kept HarryJamesPotter, Ronald BiliusWeasely, and Hermione Jane Granger from getting kicked out of Hogwarts for brewing the Polyjuice Potion, and Ms. Granger turning herself into a living version of the catwoman during their first year. Papers that kept Ms. Ginevra Molly Weasley from being admitted to the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's after being posessed by Tom Riddle. Not to mention the inquiry papers for Arthur Weasley when Harry and Ron flew the Anglia to Hogwarts at the beginning of their second year. Not to mention the papers that accused Hagrid of being the one who set something loose in the castle. You know Fudge was going to have him thrown into one of Azkaban's highest security cells? I stopped that as well."

"His third year?" he asked, shaking his head. "What about then?"

"Papers that kept the Ministry from finding Sirius Black." she said. "I hid many of the notes that came in where I knew people had spotted him. They never got to Fudge's desk, because they never left mine." She looked back at Remus and shook her head. "The inquiries into Cedric Diggory's death are in there as well. Fudge tried coming up with a story saying that Harry was losing his mind. Tried saying that he was just vying for attention. They're all in there. Along with a few things I got on Rita Skeeter not long afterwards that will keep that obnoxious woman from slandering Harry's name anymore, including the fact that she is an unregistered Animagus."

"And the most recent?"

"Lots of papers hiding stuff the Order has been doing." she said. "I may not have been a member of it, but I did have a good feeling as to what was going on. I'm the one that handled the paperwork when Sirius started living in 12 Grimmauld Place again. He had to go through the Ministry to straighten out the details, and I'm the one who helped him, even though he knew it wasn't me. Later on, when Arthur Weasley was attacked, it was ruled an accident. No one besides the Order knows any different. And exactly who do you think is responsible for keeping Narcissa Malfoy from getting her no account husband out of Azkaban by now? It sure as hell hasn't been Fudge."

"How are you doing all of this, when you are halfway across the bloody world?" he asked, shaking his head. "Arthur never told us you were working with the Ministry."

"That's because he doesn't know I'm there. I act as a liason between the Department of Magic, and the Ministry of Magic." she said. "I handle different things, since the two work in conjunction with each other at all times. To be perfectly honest with you, I've probably spent more time in the last year in England than I have in the States. But it is not extensive amounts of time. I'm there for a day or so, and then back here until they need me again."

"Does the rest of the Order know who you are?" he asked. "Snape knows this?"

"Are kidding me?" she asked. "If Snape knew I was still alive, I wouldn't put it past him to come try to kill me himself, just to spite me. No, the only other people who know I am really Sable Robbins, is you, my children, Dumbledore, and the President of the Department of Magic. Although I do think that Dumbledore has probably told McGonagall by now as well."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Just a feeling." she said. "There is not much he does that she doesn't know about, after all."

"So, now what are you going to do?" he asked after a while.

"I'm going to Hogwarts." she answered. "I'm going back to stay, at least until Voldemort is gone."

"Now you're suddenly willing to risk them?" he asked angrily. "Now you're not worrying about our children!"

"They're not all your, Remus." she said acidly. "Remember that. And as for going back, we've discussed it. All three of them, Gabe, Ailric, and Sabine, are out of school now. They can defend themselves a lot better now than they could when they were six months old."

"What are you going to do with them?" he asked.

"Dumbledore and I have already come up with a plan for it." she said. "Ailric and Gabeare going to be instated at Hogwarts under the guise of teaching assistants. And Sabine will become theschool nurse's assistant. They'll all be given an aging potion that will last for a week at a time. They'll change the way they look, and their names. The _Fidelius_ charm will be put into use. No one will know, as long as we are careful."

"And you?" he asked.

"I'm going as Dr. Lee." she said, shrugging. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Don't really have much choice in the matter, do I?"

"What about the children?" he asked.

"What about them?" she asked. "They agreed to go back. I didn't force them to."

"Do they know?" he asked. "About what happened to us, how they came along?"

"Yes." she said, nodding. "They know all of it. I told them the truth a long time ago. They know about you, Snape, Voldemort, Harry, Peter, Sirius, everything. They know you're a werewolf, and they know Snape is a Death Eater. And they know why I did what I did, when I did."

"Does...do they...I mean..." he stuttered, his confidence waning slightly upon finding out the amount of information they knew. He hadn't really expected Sable to keep the truth from them, but it still threw him for a shock.

"Do they resent you and Snape for what happened?" she asked. "For not being here?"

"Yes." he answered.

"No, they don't." she asked. "They are remarkable people, Remus. All three of them. They're understanding, and more mature than many give them credit for. Don't get me wrong, though. They're hellions at times, especially when Ailric and Gabe start fighting and me and Sabine have to get between them, but I wouldn't give anything for them." Remus looked away and Sable walked over to him, placing her hand unsurely on his shoulder. "Remus, listen to me. Don't blame them for what I did. Please, they're not at fault. If there is anyone who you want to blame, then put the blame on me."

"I got a question for you." he said. "How long does that Vertiserum you took last?"

"Couple hours, why?" she asked.

"Sable, you could have gotten in touch with me before this point, and you know it. Were you actually that terrifed of me finding out I had children?" he asked, honestly hurt by the thought.

"I was terrified of facing you, Remus." she answered truthfully. "I screwed up, royally, by not telling you, or Snape for that matter. I was scared, for my children, for myself. You don't know how many times I wanted to stop you and tell you the truth when I saw you while I was running around England. I was scared, though. That's the only answer I can give you."

"Would you have come back to England, if you hadn't been pregnant?" he asked.

"Yes." she said firmly.

"Are you going back now because of me and Snape, or because you want to get rid of Voldemort?" he asked.

"A little of both, actually." she admitted.

"Who's Sabine's father?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I...I don't know, Remus." she said, shaking her head.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" he asked. "Surely they have underwent blood tests?"

"More than their fair share." she nodded. "But she's practically a carbon copy of me. The tests won't show anything, I've already tried that. Savannah was yours, as is Ailric. Gabe is Snape's, but I don't know which of you is responsible for little mini me. At first, I thought it was Snape, then I thought it was you. Then, I was back to thinking she's Snape's again. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it was possible you both are responsible for her. Don't ask he how."

"Both?" he asked. "That is not possible. It's one or the other."

"Yeah, well, I was supposed to be completely barren according to every book I've ever read concerning ranulas, so that goes to show you things don't always work out the way people expect." Sable said, shrugging. "But if it makes you feel any better, I think she knows in her heart who her father is. She just won't tell me."

"You didn't press her for an answer?" he asked.

"No, I never have. But does it honestly matter, Remus?" she asked. "She's my daughter, I don't really give a rat's behind if Merlin himself helped me conceive her. I don't care; I love her just as much as I love the others."

"Do you plan on telling Snape about them?" he asked. "He's going to figure it out, you know, and it won't take long."

"It depends." she answered. "I need to tell him. But, I want to see how he reacts to seeing me before I spring the news on him. His reaction will be worse than yours, I can almost guarantee it."

"Undoubtedly." Remus said. "What about the rest of the Order."

"They don't need to know." she said quickly. "Half of them don't even know me as it is. And by the time I get over there and to the next meeting, the kids will have already changed their appearances and names. No one will know. Dumbledore is giving them the basics. But he's not going to tell them about you and Snape and how I'm tied into the whole mess with you both."

"You are actually going to go through with this?" he asked.

"Yes." she said.

"When are you leaving for England?" he asked. "The next Order meeting is in two days."

"Tomorrow morning." she said. "The kids just got finished packing up the supplies and toys for the family pets. We're taking a port-key there this evening to drop most of it off, and we'll be at Haven's Hollow for good tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, British time."

"How many pets do you have?" he asked, frowning. "I thought animals didn't like being around people with lycanthropy?"

"Most of the time they don't." she said. "But we've raised them, so they're used to it. Besides, how much trouble could three owls, a raven, a phoenix, a ferret, and a snake get into? Granted, that's not including whatever else they've added to the family bestiary since I checked last week."

"A snake?" Remus asked. "You have a snake?"

"It's not mine; it belongs to the kids."

"Which one?"

"Not sure, really." she said, shrugging. "One of the guys from downstairs in the _**Regulation and Control of Animals**_ gave it to them a couple years ago. He said it was some type of constrictor, so it's not poisonous. I mean, it's pretty much harmless, doesn't hurt any of the other animals at all."

"Are one of them going to be helping Hagrid in the Care of Magical Creatures class?" Remus asked warily. From the sound of it, the three teenagers were just as crazy about animals as the half giant teacher at Hogwarts.

"Possibly. It'll be Gabe, more than likely. He seems to like animals the most out of all three of them. Besides, Ailric usually avoids magical creatures if at all possible." she said, shrugging. "I'm not sure, but I think he spooks them. Do you know when Dumbledore is going to send for Harry?"

"Soon, hopefully." he said. "I hate having the boy at the Dursley's. They're horrible people, even for Muggles."

"So I've heard." she said. "I'm sure it won't be long before you get to see him again."

"Sable?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Ailric hate me?" he asked quietly. Sable was surprised with the sudden change in topic, but went with it anyway. She was there to answer his questions, after all.

"No, he doesn't." she said reassuringly. "He just doesn't know you, Remus, that's all. Unfortunately for both of us, Ailric is the most protective of all of them. He's a good boy, but he's complicated at times, a lot like you when you were sixteen."

"You weren't around me when we were sixteen." Remus pointed out dryly.

"No, but I was around you when you were seventeen, and I hightly doubt there was that much difference." she said dryly.

"I want to know my son." the wizard said, shaking his head. "He looks just like me."

"And despite what he does or says to the contrary, Ailric wants to know you as well." Sable said quietly. "He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, Remus. It's going to take some work and getting used to for both of you, and me too. I think it might be best if you sat down and talked with him first, before long."

Remus only nodded and looked out the window. Off to the side, a clock struck two o'clock, and Sable sighed dejectedly. "Look, Remus, I need to go. The kids and I have a good bit of packing left to do before we leave. I know there is more that you want to talk about, and I'm not trying to blow you off, but I need to go."

"I understand." he said, rising from the chair. "You'll be at the house in Haven's Hollow tomorrow morning, then?"

"Bright and early." she said, nodding.

"Do you think they would mind if I was there?" he asked, referring to the three teenagers.

"I don't see why not." she answered. "Just as long as Snape isn't there yet."

"He won't be there until the Order meeting." Remus said.

"That's fine." she said. "It'll give us enough time to get things situated." Remus just nodded and turned to walk towards the door. Sable followed behind him after gathering up the folders and the journal on her desk. "You forgot these." she said, handing them to him as she walked out the door. Remus took the proffered envelopes, but left the journal in her hands.

"You keep that one." he said. "It was never mine to begin with." Sable tucked the book under her arm and nodded.

"You're still angry with me, aren't you, Remus?" she asked quietly.

"Yes."

"I expected as much." she said, her head hung low. "I never set out to intentionally hurt anyone else, Remus, especially you."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked. "Even when or if Voldemort is defeated, would you have ever told me about them? Me or Snape for that matter?"

"I don't know." she said. "Proabaly not, unless the kids had searched you out and found you themselves."

"I see." he said stiffly.

"No, you don't, Remus." she said, shaking her head sadly. "If you're still angry at me for what I done, then you can't really see why I never came back. You don't understand my love for those three kids. Maybe, when you understand the bond a mother has with her children, then you'll understand why I wanted to protect them, and why I was willing to give up everything I had for them."

"You're not Lily Potter." he said angrily. "Don't tell me I don't understand."

"I never said I was." Sable said. "But Lily paid the ultimate sacrifice for her son, something I have not had to do up until this point. But I would do it in a half a heartbeat if it came down to me or one of my children. She gave her life for Harry. Could you do that, Remus? Could you lay down your life for another human being?"

"If I had to." he said. "Yes."

"You still don't understand, Remus. Let me put it to like this." she said. "This is the simplest explanation I can come up with. I'd rather have my children alive and without a father than have them dead with their father beside me. I put aside my feelings for you, because of their safety, and I'd do it again. I loved you then, Remus.But I love those kids more."

"You've turned cold." he said, taking a step back in quiet surprise at her vehemence. "You were never this coldhearted before."

"No, my priorities have just changed drastically since the last time we talked." she said. "They're my life, Remus. And if I can go back to England, and help put away the maniac that put us through so much growing up, then I'll do it. If only to stop Ailric, Gabe, and Sabine from having to go through the same hell down the road."

Remus wasn't sure what to say to her. She just stood there in front of him, defiant as ever and defending what she believed in and what she had done. He just shook his head and headed for the doorway, not trusting himself to say anything. He didn't tell her goodbye, did not even acknowledge the fact that she was standing in the room. He just left, shutting the door behind him.

Sable watched him go without saying a word to her. She knew he was in shock, and still angry with her. But, she would stand by what she done, and if he didn't like it, there was nothing she could do about it. But then again, the meeting with him had went better than expected. She'd thought he would come in yelling and screaming at her. But he hadn't.

_'I think I hurt his feelings, more than anything.'_ she thought as she stepped out the office. _'But I don't know what else to do. Well, I'll deal with it one day at a time, that's all I can do. I'm sorry, Remus, I really am. But my hands were tied.'_

By the time Sable and her three teenagers had touched down on the outskirts of Haven's Hallow property line, they were in fairly good spirits and ready to assist Dumbledore as much as possible. The episode between Sable and Remus had been put on the back burner for the time being, and Sable forced her mind to forget the fact that he was supposed to be meeting them at Haven's Hallow this morning. The two of them still had some things to work out, but they were running short on time. Remus wouldn't be patient for much longer, and she knew it.

The port key, an old white rubber boot, that they had taken had dropped them on a small knoll right outside the defensive barriers that Order members had put up around the house when they had arrived the days before. All around the family members, boxes and bags were scattered, each one marked with the owners' initials or full names.

To anyone who looked, the assembled people on the hill would look like a group of tourists lost during a sight seeing trip. Before the trip, Sable had given each of the teens a draught of an aging potion, causing their bodies to age rapidly in a fairly short amount of time in order to help protect their identities from anyone who may report back to Voldemort. The only one who looked relatively normal was Sable. But the three teenagers had used various charms and incantations to change their physical appearances. They had also changed their last names, each one taking on a different one to help in the charade they were playing. Sabine took the last name Meadows, while Ailric was deemed as Ailric Robbins, and Gabe as Gabriel Tartavu.

"I hate port-keying!" Sabine said, shaking her head and causing her auburn curls to go bouncing. "It always makes me dizzy!" She dusted herself off and scanned the area with now blue eyes. Beside her, Gabe picked himself up off the ground and dusted the seat of his pants off.

"I highly doubt you'd like to have yourself splinched, Sabine." he said. "You can't Apparate across the Atlantic Ocean without running the risk of leaving half your body for the sharks to find, and you know it." The son of Severus Snape had probably been the one to change the most due to the charms and incantations. Gone was the shoulder length black hair that he'd inherited from his parents, and in it's place was a head full of long, thick brown hair, which was currently pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His bluish-purple eyes had been changed to a nail grey color, and even his complexion had been darkened to a light tan.

Sable had been concerned that having Gabe and Snape within Hogwart's walls together could lead to some people asking questions. So the majority of her work had been on him. After it all, Gabe still had the expressions he'd inherited from Snape, but physically, their was no other similarity.

"Yes, unless of course your main goal in life before you die is to become fodder for Jaws." Ailric pointed out, goading his sister even more.

"Shut it, blondie." Sabine snapped, glaring at her younger brother. "At least I don't look like some reject surfer bum."

"No, you just look like a thirty something year old hag in need of a good lay." Ailric retorted, picking on his older sister mercilessly. Gabe sniggered and quickly focused his attention on letting some of the animals out of their carriers. It would do no good to ensue Sabine's wrath, and he knew it. Sabine had been the one to take the largest dose of the aging potion, causing her body to morph into that of a mature woman in her mid-thirties, as opposed to her brothers who honly looked to be in their mid and upper twenties. It had surprised them all when Sabine had turned around and they had found that she and Sable could practically pass for twin sisters.

Needless to say, a few well placed charms later, and the resemblence was only a memory.

"I sure hope that is not what you think about me, young man." Sable said, looking over at her eldest son and frowning. "Just because you look older does not mean that I will hesitate to hex you into next week if you don't behave yourself. And that includes that filthy mouth of yours as well."

"Sorry, mum." Ailric said, thoroughly chastised.

"Speaking of someone getting laid," Gabe said quietly as the mother and son continued to bicker. "look who's here, Sabine." The two looked up and saw that Remus and Molly Weasley were stepping out of the entrance doors to the house and heading towards them.

"We've got company coming, mom." Sabine said, pulling the good doctor's attention away from Ailric for the time being. "You didn't tell us anyone would be here this morning when we got here."

"I thought there might be the posibility that a member of the Order was still in the house. That's why we done all the changes before we left." she said, pulling out her wand and charming the numerous bags to float behind her as she headed to meet the werewolf and Weasley matriarch.

"So, how many people actually know who we are?" Ailric asked.

"As far as members of the Order go, they know we are the children of Dr. Lee." Gabe said.

"But they are completely clueless as to who our fathers are." Sabine finished. "Only Dumbledore and Lupin know who we are really. Everyone else just knows that we are teenagers in the disguise of older people."

"And they were okay with this?" Ailric asked. "Are we even really members of the Order?"

"I don't think mom really gave them much of a choice to be honest with you." Gabe said. "From the way I hear it, if they wanted her to come back, they had to abide by the rules she set concerning the three of us. As for being binding members to Dumbledore's little freedom fighting group, I believe we are to act as though we are, especially around Potter and his friends, but we're really not."

"Well, there's no point in standing here and looking like idiots, my fine gentlemen." Sabine said cheerfully. "Time to bite the bullet and get on with it." She pulled her wand out, levitated the bags, sending them off towards the house at their own pace. She then straightened up her cloak and took off down the knoll behind her mother, beckoning for the two boys to follow behind.

The situation they had found themselves in was bound to become more than awkward at some point and time, and both of them realized it. Ailric and Gabe just looked at each other and shook their heads, then headed down the knoll and towards only Merlin knew what.

"I hope you had a safe trip." Remus said, giving Sable a nod when he got within speaking range of her. Beside him, Molly smiled welcomingly and waited to be introduced. "Dr. Lee, this is Molly Weasley, a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley." Sable said pleasantly, shaking the woman's hand. "How do you do?"

"I'm quite well, thank you, Dr. Lee." the plump woman answered, smiling warmly. "It is good to finally meet you. Dumbledore has spoken very highly of you since your name was brought up as a candidate for the position as Defense professor at Hogwarts. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I take it those are your children?" Molly nodded towards the port-key landing spot where the three siblings were walking down, Sabine in the lead. "They seem rather...old."

"Precautionary measures to insure their safety." Dr. Lee said. "I ran into some problems with some Death Eaters a few years ago, and I don't want my children to be labeled as potential targets should things get out of hand. In truth, they are barely of legal age in America."

"I understand completely." the red headed woman said, nodding. "Sometimes I wish I could lock my own away in a cupboard somewhere until this war was over with." By this time, Sabine and her two brothers had gotten to their mother, and were standing politely back until they were introduced to the red headed woman.

"Good to see you made the trip safely." Remus said, nodding towards the small group of radically changed siblings. "How are you?"

"As fine as can be, Mr. Lupin." Sabine said, nodding in his direction. "And yourself?"

"I'm alive." he answered awkwardly, not all too sure that the three teens in disguise before him were not going to hex him into oblivion for some ungodly reason. "But that's about it." It was quite obvious that the coming full moon was wrecking havoc on the man in front of them. He looked pale and sickly, unlike the healthy color they had first seen. And the stress of meeting up with his long lost girlfriend, and finding he had children more than likely was the reason there were bags under his eyes.

"Barely." muttered Gabe quietly, cocking an eyebrow. Sabine inconspiciously dug her elbow into the young man's stomach and continued on as though he'd never spoken to begin with.

"You all have done a wonderful job with the disguises." Remus comented. "I would have never recognized you."

"Mom did most of the work." Ailric said, shrugging his shoulders. "We just stood there and let her and Sabine use us as baby dolls for a couple hours."

"Of course that was after they bound and gagged us to get us to stay still long enough for any of the charms to land within the vicinity of our bodies." Gabe pointed out dryly. Molly Weasley chuckled and offered her hand to Sabine, introducing herself. After the introductions were made all around, the four newcomers followed Remus and Molly to the house.

Molly told Sable of what she had been doing in the large house in order to get it ready for long term inhabitants while Remus kept the conversation going with the three siblings as best he could.He still was rather hesitant around them, not all sure as to what he could talk about that would keep their attention. Luckily for him, Ailric's open hostility towards him had seemed to cool down. And by the time they had parted ways in order for the siblings to put their things away into their own bedrooms, Remus felt a little better. Of course, the open hostility that Ailric had seemingly lost had apparently made a new home in Sable.

She had not said two words to him since she had arrived, preferring to keep her conversation with Molly Weasley going instead of speaking with him. Remus couldn't really blame her, though. He'd left her office the day before without so much as a _'Goodbye'_. It was more than likely that she was rather mad at him for doing that. He knew there would be awkward moments between him and Sable at some point in time. It was bound to happen, but he had hoped to be able to work through them easily and find the common ground they had shared when they were still in school So, he took the first oppurtunity he had when she was going towards her own room upstairs to try and speak with her again. He caught her by surprise right before she was stepping up the staircase.

"Have a good trip?"

"It was bearable." she said, shrugging. "Although I much prefer Apparating. Less paperwork and dizziness in the end. Did you get to talk with the kids?"

"Yes." he said. "Seems like the only common ground at the moment is Quidditch though. And that sorely limits the conversation topics."

"Transfiguration is always a good way to start." she said, a small smile on her face.

"Excuse me?"

"Ailric's favorite subject in school was Transfiguration." she said. "Once the Quidditch talk runs out, try that one. It always works for me. Chess is a good ice breaker too. He's a good strategist."

"What about the other two?" he asked, thankful for the help she seemed willing to give. "I don't want them to think I'm alienating them and trying to take their sibling away from them."

"I'll let you figure that out on your own." she said with a grin. "It's not that hard. Once you've been around them a couple of days, you'll pick up on their naunces." The werewolf was about to reply when Molly Weasley's strident voice came through the hallway.

"Remus!" she shouted. "Come quick!" Remus, not knowing what was going on, quickly ran back into the kitchen, where Tonks was standing, heaving heavily to replenish her air supply to her lungs. In the fireplace at their feet, Dumbledore's floating head looked serious and concerned.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, looking at Dumbledore's floating head, his mind reeling with a thousand _'what if's'. _

"There has been an attack on the Grangers, Remus." Dumbledore said. "Mr. Granger's parent's place of employment was destroyed a few moments ago by a blaze. The Dark Mark was found floating above the ruins."

"Is Hermione okay?" Remus asked suddenly. "Were her parents hurt?"

"They hadn't arrived for the day's work yet." Tonks said, her breath labored still. "The lookout we had following the Grangers called us out immediately, and we managed to get ahold of two of the ones responsible, but the others got away."

"We need to get Ms. Granger to Haven's Hallow as quickly as possible." Dumbledore said, his voice grave. "I contacted the Grangers right after term was over with, explaining that Hermione may be called upon to assist us during the summer vacation. Her parents agreed, so you should not run into any form of interference from them."

"What about Harry?" Molly asked. "Is he okay?"

"Our informant tells us that Harry will likely be the next target, Molly." Dumbledore said. "I want you to gather all members of the Order that you can, split them up, and go get Harry and Ms. Granger. I do believe it would be prudent to bring young Ronald to Haven's Hollow as well."

"I'll send word for him and Ginny to get here as soon as possible." Molly said quickly, absently wringing her hands together. "It will take too much time for all the others to get here, though. Albus, can't we just..."

"What's all the noise about?" came Sabine's voice from behind them. The three occupants of the room, and Dumbledore's head, turned to see the woman standing in the doorway, a confused look on her face. "Something the matter?"

"There's been an attack on Hermione Granger." Remus said. "We've got to go get her, and Harry as well."

"Molly, Remus," Dumbledore said. "There are enough of you to get them both. Remus, take Dr. Lee, Tonks, and Mr. Tartavu to go get Harry. Molly, take Ms. Meadows and Mr. Robbins and go gather up Ms. Granger."

"I'll go get Ailric and Gabe." Sabine said quickly, turning on her heels and running towards the stairs.

"Is it safe for them..." Dr. Lee quickly asked.

"They will be fine." Dumbledore assured her. "I already have Bill and Charlie Weasley on their way to the Granger household as well. They will be there to meet you, Molly. I am also sending Mad Eye to Privett Drive, Remus. He'll meet you there."

"Right."

"Take these letters and go, quickly. Make sure Petunia Dursley gets that one." Dumbledore said. "Time is of the essence. I will contact Mr. and Ms. Weasley at the Burrow, Molly. You needn't worry about that. Get to the Granger's."

"We're here." Sabine said, coming into the kitchen beside her brother. Gabe was with them as well. Remus fleetingly noticed that all three of them now looked serious and ready for anything. Gone was the light banter and seemingly normal faces he'd just seen. Now, they looked just like the rest of the Haven's occupants, ready to go to war to save Harry and his friends.

"Go with Dr. Lee and Remus, Mr. Tartavu." Dumbledore said. Gabe nodded in compliance with the wizard's orders.

"We're gone." Dr. Lee said, quickly grabbing the two letters and handing Molly the one with the Granger's names on it. "Let's go, Remus, Gabriel."

"We're right behind you." Tonks said, motioning for the rest of the room's occupants to clear out. It was time to go to war again, and they were all more than ready for it.

As soon as Remus and the rest of the rescue party Apparated into the small, out of the way place near the playground close to Privett Drive, they were found by none other than Arabella Figg, who quickly told them that she had received news of the attack on the Grangers, and had immediately went to the Dursley's to see about Harry. She told them that Moody was waiting for them, and would be there when they got there. Remus sent the woman to watch for any suspicious happenings while he and the rest of the group quickly crossed the street and walked a block South to where Number 4 Privett Drive was located.

"About time you bunch showed up." came Moody's scraggy voice, as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "I've been waiting here for over twenty minutes. And who are these two, Lupin?"

"No time for introductions, now, Moody." Remus said, knocking on the door to 4 Privett Drive. "We've got to get Harry out of here. Snape told Dumbledore that Haryy is likely the next target."

"How do we know they're not Death Eaters in disguise?" Moody growled.

"I am Dr. Mikayla Lee, sir." Sabine said, nodding towards him. "We've worked together before on occasion I believe. And this is Gabriel Tartavu."

"Nice disguise you've got there, kid." Moody growled, nodding towards Gabe. "Your charm work is getting better."

"You know her?" Remus asked, turning to Moody.

"A'course I do!" he said gruffly. "Known her since before she left Hogwarts." Remus growled and knocked on the door again, this time harder. He could hear the grumbling of Vernon Dursley on the other side, and a curt order for Harry to answer the door and send them away if it was a salesman trying to sell anything. The door swung open and Remus almost grinned himself when he saw Harry's surprised face.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said brightly.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked, staring at them.

"Not happy to see us, I suppose. Quite a shock I know." the young woman said with a grin.

"We've come to get you, Harry." Remus said firmly. "Some things have happened, and you need to get away from here quickly. Now go get your stuff together."

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked, letting them through the doorway. "No one else got hurt, did they?"

"Not at the moment, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said gravely. "But we must get you out of here quickly. Time is of the essence."

"Who are you?" the boy asked, giving her an odd look.

"Dr. Mikayla Lee." she said. "Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and latest acquistion to the Order."

"And him?" Harry asked, nodding to where Gabe was standing, in deep conversation with Tonks about something.

"That's Gabriel Tartavu." Remus said. "Another member of the Order. Now go get your belongings while I give this to your aunt and uncle."

"Sure thing." Harry said. Dr. Lee followed the messy haired boy up the stairs and into an adjacent room right about the time Vernon, Dudley and Petunia Dursley walked in to see who the visitors were. As expected, Vernon Dursley quickly took on the coloring of an overly ripe plum, while Petunia just turned white, and Dudley slipped behind his parents in fright. Remus had seen this type of reaction from the family before, and took a deep breath, knowing what was to come.

Sable followed Harry up the short flight of stairs and into his room. A quick glance around showed that James and Lily's son was just as messy as her own. There was clothes all over the place, along with textbooks and broom cleaning supplies.

"It shouldn't take long to pack." Harry said quietly. "I didn't really unpack much to begin with."

"Would you like me to help you?" she asked. "I am a pretty good packer if I do say so myself." Harry only shrugged and turned to pick up the supplies he was using to trim the twigs on his broomstick, the Firebolt that Sirius had given him during his third year at Hogwarts.

He'd been thinking about his godfather a lot lately, and the feeling of utter coldness once again settled into his chest, knowing that Sirius was gone for good, a victim of the mysterious veil in the Department of Mysteries. He wanted to see his godfather again, more than anything in the world. And his anger at Voldemort for taking his guardian and friend away from him was beyond measure. Harry had never really contemplated killing another person before, short of when he believed Sirius to be the escaped convict from Azkaban who had been responsible for his parent's murder, but he could see himself killing the evil wizard Voldemort, if only to get revenge for what had happened to Sirius.

The young wizard was knocked out of his musings by a soft gasp from behind him. He turned around and saw that his new professor was holding up the metal frame to the two way mirror Sirius had given him before he'd died. He stood up and was about to take it from her when she ran her finger down the side of the edge, a small smile on her face.

"You have Sirius' old two-way mirror." she said, a reminiscent tone in her voice that stopped Harry in his tracks.

She almost sounded like she was going to cry.

"Yeah, he gave it to me, before he...well..." Harry said, not quite able to finish the sentence. "How did you know whose it was?"

"I'm sure you've heard this line before, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said sadly. "But I was a friend of you parent's and Sirius and Remus' during our time at Hogwarts."

"You knew them?" he asked. The woman before he did not even look to be Remus' age, and he had suspected that she had been a foreigner from her accent. But now, with her voice so full of emotion, Harry could pick up on the faint British accent that still littered her speech.

"Quite well, I happy to say." she said. "I'll tell you about them some other time though. Now, we must get you to the safehouse. What happened to this mirror though?"

"I accidently broke it." Harry said vaguely. The woman looked at him rather curiously and then pulled out her wand, pointing to the shards of the mirror.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked, waiting for his ascent. Harry only nodded and watched as the woman quickly repaired the broken mirror, then carefully handed it back to him.

"Thank you, Professor." he said. "But I'm afraid it was pointless. The matching mirror is still in Grimmauld Place. And there is no one there I want to talk to, I can assure you."

"Not a problem, Mr. Potter." she said, smiling. "But you really should be more careful. Those two way mirrors are rare things. It does no good to go breaking them unneccessarily. As for the whereabouts of it's sister mirror, I wouldn't be so sure it is still in Grimmauld Place." Before Harry could say anything else, or ask what she meant by that comment, he felt a strong magical pulse through his body that brought him to his knees. Apparently, Dr. Lee felt it as well, because she staggered, then tensed up and then glanced out the window, obviously searching for something.

"Something wrong, Professor?" he asked, shaking his head. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said. "But we need to hurry." She quickly waved her wand and Harry's once scattered belongings neatly flew into his trunk, which closes with a small click. "Got your broom and supplies? Yes? Well, let's get out of here then. I dare say your uncle is about to have a heart attack from our being here."

"What is your lot doing here?" Vernon Dursley demanded, stomping his foot in anger. "Get out of my house!"

"We'll be gone momentarily, Mr. Dursley. Just as soon as Harry gathers his belongings." Remus said. "I was instructed to give this to you, Mrs. Dursley." Remus handed the pale woman the envelope and watched as she opened it, quickly scanning the contents and then crumbling up the parchment before her husband could peak over her shoulder.

"What is all this nonsense about?" the man demanded. "I demand to know what is going on in my own house!"

"Dursley, I don't know what makes you so bleeding stupid, but it is working really well." Moody growled, pushing his way past Remus and right into the portly man's face. Remus could see the magical eye spinning almost non-stop beneath the bowler hat, trying to find any intruders in the house. "The boy is going to be attacked, Dursley, and we're trying to get him away from it."

"Attack?" Petunia gasped. "Someone is going to attack our home?"

"They will if your bloody fool you call your husband doesn't shut up and let us get out of here with the boy." Moody said, cocking his bowler hat to one side to reveal the magical eye, still twisting in his head. Vernon gasped and took a step back, not wanting to be anywhere near the man.

"Leave them be, Vernon." Petunia said quietly. "The sooner Harry gets his belongings, the sooner they get out."

"You keep saying that, Petunia!" Vernon bellowed, his fists in the air. "Something is going on, and you refuse to tell me! I'll not have anymore of this in my house! I deserve the right to know what that brat has been doing that is suddenly putting our family in danger!"

"Vernon, please, I'll explain after Harry is gone."

"No! I want answers now!" he said loudly, pounding his fist on a nearby table. "I want to know what that bastard, freak of a nephew of yours has done now, Petunia."

"That is quite enough, Vernon Dursley!" Petunia barked, pining her husband with a glare that suddenly made Remus think of Lily Potter at her worst. He suddenly felt a jolt of magical energy flow through him that all but knocked him to his knees. It wasas though someone had cast a very powerful spell nearby. He looked around, and saw that Moody had noticed it as well, because he was headed up the stairway towards Harry's room, only to come face to face with Harry and Dr. Lee before he got to the stairs.

"Everything okay down here?" Dr. Lee asked, noticing the tense looks on everyone's faces.

"Fine." Remus said, motioning for Harry and the others to go towards thefront door in the living room. "Time to go, Harry. Do you have everything you need?" The boy nodded, and Remus pulled a small satchel of powder from one of his pockets and handed threw it onHarry, then whispered something in his ear. The black headed boy only nodded, and gather up his belongings, following Dr. Lee outside and into the evening air.

Petunia remained tight lipped and silent during the entire process, now more pale than ever. Her husband just huffed and stalked away when he realized he was not going to get any answers from her, too angry to do much of anything else. His son followed, deadly white, but still glaring at the newcomers.

"Well, he's got the looks of a saint, don't he?" Tonks commented as they left 4 Privett Drvie, seeing how Dudley Dursley's scowl had overtaken his face and made it looked like a pinched prune

"Yeah, a bloody Saint Bernard." Gabe muttered, causing Moody to chuckle and Tonks to grin. Remus turned to the only Dursley still standing there and shook his head. Petunia Dursley was one of the keys to keeping Harry safe during the summer, and if she and her family were fighting about Harry being there, he could foretell that there would be more problems in the coming months. Probably more than they could deal with considering the state of things.

_A/N - I hope you guys are enjoying this story. All of our characters are about to be thrown into one house. Let's see how much havoc I can wreck on them..._

_Later, _

_A.A._

_Oh, and remember to leave a review, I want to know what you are thinking._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. The only characters I own are the ones not originally present in the Harry Potter universe. I'm not making any money, so don't sue.**_

_A/N - Hey, everyone. I'm back with the next installment of this crazy story. Hope you enjoy. This chapter is nice and long to make up for the time it has been since my last update. ;)_

_Special thanks to the following people:_

_**Sarah - **I liked the mini me part too! Don't worry, I'm going to go back and fix the whole situation where it is as awkward as I can possibly make it. I had a nasty little run in with my own paternal half after not seeing him for sixteen years. Only difference is, I wasn't awkward….I was pissed!!! And I try not to take up too much of the story with notes to reviewers, but I do like to let you guys know I appreciate your comments. Thanks again! ;)_

_**wolvesaremylife1 - **Petunia knows more than she's letting on, at least in this story. It'll all come out in the end. Just be patient with me please. And Ginny's name is not Virginia. Most of that was just fans speculation. Take a look at JKR's official site, and you'll find out a lot of little interesting tidbits about our favorite family, the Weasley's. Thanks for the review by the way._

_**Lothliana - **Ailric is not really like that. He's just protective of him mother. His true personality starts to come out in this chapter. He's actually very nice, at least in my mind. Thanks for the review, by the way. I enjoy knowing what you think._

_**ElspethBates - **Yay! A new reviewer! I'm glad you like the story. I aim to please! ;)_

_**AnGeL-GiRl-XxX - **Yeah, Moody is a character, isn't he? Here's another long chapter for you to enjoy….hopefully. Thanks again! J_

_----------_

_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 6_

_And the Battle Commences_

_----------_

The trip back to Haven's Hollow was nothing but a blur for Harry. After leaving the Dursley' home, Remus and Tonks had lead the group to a darkened alleyway near the playground. They ducked out of sight, and into the cramped space. It was then that Harry finally found his voice and ability to question what they were doing in the Muggle world, and why they were in such a hurry to get him out of Privet Drive.

"Professor Lupin, what's going on?" he asked. "Why such the rush?"

"We've received word that Death Eaters are about to target you for an attack." he answered, scanning their surroundings as if looking for the black cloaked killers to jump out right them. "We are taking you to the new headquarters as a safety precaution. You are not the only student that has been targeted, unfortunately, and by the time we get to Haven's Hollow, Ron and Hermione should be there as well."

"They alright?" Harry asked immediately, his heart dropping to hear that his two best friends were possibly in trouble because of him. "Ron's family hasn't been attacked have they? What about Hermione?"

"Ms. Granger's parent's office building was burned to the ground earlier this morning, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said. "The Dark Mark was found emblazoned on the only wall that was left partially standing."

"Are they okay?" he asked again. "Is she hurt?"

"Thankfully, no one was there at the time." Remus answered. Harry heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the heavens that his two friends had escaped unscathed. He'd already lost his godfather, he didn't think he would remain sane if Hermione or Ron were hurt as well.

"We ready?" Tonks asked, peering down the street both ways, and checking for any passing Muggles.

"Yes." Mr. Tartavu answered, following behind her. "The sooner we get out of here, the better." Moody only grunted and waved his wand, causing Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage, with the owl still in it, to vanish from sight.

"Come here, Potter." the Auror growled. Harry walked forward and stood in front of the grizzled man. Moody simply cracked him over the head with his wand and mutter something. Harry felt the familiar feel of the Disillusionment charm settle into place. "Let's go." Remus placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and gave a half grin when Dr. Lee did the same.

"We're Apparating to right outside the protective barrier's reach." he explained. "But since you don't know how, Dr. Lee and I are going to help a bit."

"Fine."

"When we get there, you may be a little disoriented." the woman at his side said. "But it will pass." He just nodded and waited.

"Tonks and I will stay here and keep watch over the Muggles." Moody said. "Those Death Eaters may still come looking for the boy."

"We'll make sure to inform Albus." Remus said. Harry was about to tell Moody to just let the Dursley's fend for themselves when he was suddenly standing in the middle of what looked like a moor or marsh.

He felt dizzy, and couldn't focus his eyes on what appeared to be a slightly large, run down building in the not too far distance. Taking his glasses off, he rubbed his eyes and put them back on, then turned to Remus.

The house looked more dilapidated then the Burrow!

"This is Haven's Hollow?" he asked skeptically, wondering how in the world the building managed to stay standing on its own.

"It doesn't look so bad once you get closer." Remus said. "It's protection to keep Muggles away."

"Well, let's get you inside then, Mr. Potter." Dr. Lee said briskly. "I dare say the sooner you get out of sight, the better. At least for the time being. Remus, if you would?" Lupin nodded, but said nothing. Harry followed behind the woman as she walked forward. Every now and then, Harry could hear her mutter something and flick her wand in the general direction of the house. His face must had belied his curiosity because the man who had been introduced as Gabe Tartavu said,

"She's disengaging the protective barriers so we can get through without any trouble."

"Oh." Harry answered. He looked back to where Lupin was working, apparently re-engaging the barriers behind them as they went along. "I see."

A few moments later, they were standing at the front gate surrounding the run down building. Even though Remus had said it would look better when they got closer, Harry thought the close proximity made the house look even worse. The windows were broken, the porch was falling apart, and the roof was missing huge pieces from it. Never the less, Dr. Lee pushed the gate open after unlocking it with a key from her pocket, allowing them to enter.

As soon as Harry stepped forward through the swinging gate door, he could see the house for what it really was: a large, two story building with a porch, and big windows in the front. The yard surrounding it was neat and green, and it actually looked like something a person could live in.

"Welcome, Harry, to Haven's Hollow." Remus said. "this is Dr. Lee's home, and you'll be staying here the rest of the summer until you begin the term."

"Thanks." Harry said, looking over at Dr. Lee.

"My pleasure, Mr. Potter." she said, ushering them inside. "Now, let's get you inside before your companions worry themselves to death, shall we? I do believe I hear Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley's voices."

Harry grinned and walked into the house through the large front doors. His first instinct was to tiptoe and make as little noise as possible, like they'd had to do at Grimmauld place. But the combined footsteps of the two youngest Weasley's along with Hermione thundering down the stairs, made him realize that if there was anything to wake up, they'd have already done so.

"Harry!" Hermione all but cried, running towards him. "You're okay! Oh, thank Merlin!" The bushy haired witch hugged him tightly, while Ron and Ginny looked on, amusement on their faces. "Oh, I was so worried. When we found mum and dad's office in flames, and the Mark on the wall…..Oh, I was worried sick!You alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?Your aunt and uncle……"

"Hermione," Ron said, gently pulling her away from his best friend. "give the bloke a chance to breath, will you?"

"I'm fine." Harry said, touched by the concern on Hermione's face, and the obvious relief in Ron and Ginny's eyes. "Thank you."

"Well, now that we're all settled, and we see that you are all in one piece," Dr. Lee said, a small smile on her face. "How about I show you where you'll be staying? I'm sure you four have lots to talk about."

"Where's my trunk?" Harry asked, looking around. "And Hedwig's cage?"

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said, coming from the kitchen, her arms outstretched in welcome. The plump lady hugged him tightly and stepped back, looking him over critically. "You're alright. I'm so glad."

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said.

"You look peaky, child." she said, studying him closely. "You and Hermione both. Now, you all need feeding up. Go put your things away, and I'll whip up some food for all of you. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Harry and Hermione said.

"Alright then, off you go." the woman said, shooing them away. "Go on, now."

"I believe this belongs to you, Mr. Potter." said another woman with curly auburn hair who had come up beside Molly Weasley. She levitated the trunk around and set it in front of him. "You can't unpack if you don't have anything to unpack."

"Who are you?" Harry asked politely.

"This is Ms. Sabine Meadows." Remus said, nodding at the lady being introduced. "She's the newest member of the Order, along with Dr. Lee, Mr. Tartavu and another gentleman named Ailric Robbins."

"Someone talking about me?" came a male voice from the stairs. Harry looked up at the banister railing and saw a young man with blond hair and a big grin on his face, leaning against the railing. "You're not talking about me again, eh, Dr. Lee?"

"Obviously not, since you didn't hear her yelling at the top of her lungs." Gabe Tartavu said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Harry looked at his friends, more than puzzled about the man's comment, but said nothing.

"As I was saying." Remus continued, "Dr. Lee will show you to the rooms you'll be staying in and explain the rules." The werewolf turned to Dr. Lee and nodded. "We'll be waiting for you inside the kitchen." The dark headed lady only nodded, then turned to Harry and his friends while Remus walked into the kitchen.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Dr. Lee said, using her wand to levitate not only Harry's trunk, but Hermione's as well. "Will you follow me, please? And watch your step." The four teens followed her up the stairs without another mishap. "Now, since we have a number of Order members staying here for now, I'm afraid you four will be bunking together in separate rooms." Dr. Lee said as they came to the top of the stairs. There are no rules you need to concern yourself with. Now, there are three levels to this house. The attic is nothing but a spider infested dust ball at the moment, but you are welcome to dig around up there and see what you can turn up."

"You mean you don't know what's up there?" Ron asked.

"For the majority, yes." Dr. Lee answered. "But I inherited this house from some family friends a number of years ago, and have not had the opportunity to clean it out yet. Now, this floor is the bedrooms. You'll be sleeping in these two rooms." She pointed to two door that were side by side. "There are bathrooms attached to each, so you needn't worry about sharing."

"That's a relief." Ginny muttered, glancing at her brother.

"The first floor is the rest of the house. Dining room, living room, kitchen. There is also an office off to the side and a library. Both are filled with parchment, quills, ink and books you may find useful to you for your summer homework. Feel free to use them if you need to."

"Wow." Hermione said, obviously amazed at the prospect of having so much material on hand in the house. Dr. Lee smiled and waved them over to a large curtained off wall on the rear of the house. She pulled the cord and they watched as the curtain retracted, showing a large wall made of windows.

"Now, here is the only warning you really need." Dr. Lee said, her voice deadly calm and serious. "The protective barriers around the house extend around the entire property. However, the strongest charms are centered around the fenced in area closest to the house. Now, the spells that Albus and the rest of us have in place allows you to go outside whenever you please. However, the only stipulation falls here. Don't go out the fenced-in areas. Once you are out, the Order's protection and concealment charms nullify, and you are left in the open and vulnerable to attacks."

"Is the area very large?" Harry asked.  
"The fence runs a good ways back." Dr. Lee said. "So you'll be fine."

"What about those buildings?" he asked, pointing to the smaller buildings down below them.

"The ones on the right are greenhouses." Dr. Lee said. "The one in the middle is for owls to roost, and a place to keep pets if you didn't want them in the house. I would be careful if you go in there, though."

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"Because, there's no telling what my children have drug home." she said, rolling her eyes.

"You have kids?" Hermione asked. "Are we going to meet them?" Harry noticed that the question seemed to have caught her off guard, and she tensed up quickly.

"Yes, I do." she answered. "Unfortunately they could not come with me."

"Where are they?" Ron asked.

"They'll be attending Salem's School for Witches and Wizards this term." Dr. Lee said firmly. Harry could tell she was uncomfortable with the conversation, and wondered why. But he figured it was none of his business and searched for a way to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"What's the third building?" he asked.

"A small storage shed." she said, shrugging. "I am not too sure what is in it, thought. Probably old Quidditch equipment and other stuff. The previous owners of Haven's Hollow were big Quidditch fans. So, I'm not really sure. You can take a look around if you want, though."

"Can we play Quidditch while we're here?" Ron asked, a grin on his face.

"I don't see why not." Dr. Lee said. "The barriers will keep you out of danger as long as you don't try to fly beyond them. Just bring me the Quidditch set you are going to use, and I'll but the charms on it so they will stay in the confines of the barriers."

"This place isn't too bad." Ron murmured. "We get to play Quidditch."

"Well, I'll leave you four to get settled in then." Dr. Lee said, smiling slightly at them as she took her leave from the floor, walking back down the stairs.

As soon as Harry was sure the woman was out of hearing range, he looked to Hermione and frowned.

"What happened earlier?" he asked. "Where's your mum and dad?" Hermione flinched slightly and shivered, and Ron put a comforting hand on her shoulder, almost as if he was scared she was going to fall to pieces by just thinking about it.

"Mum and dad are fine." the bushy haired witch said quietly. "The only thing that was hurt was the building."

"Where are they now?" Harry asked as they walked absently into the room where the girls would be staying. Hermione automatically started unpacking her belongings and setting them up around one side of the room. Harry figured it was more to distract herself than anything else.

"Dumbledore sent Professor McGonagall to explain the bare details to my parents." she said. "I'm not sure what she told mum and dad, but she assured me that they would be fine."

"We think Dumbledore may have put some sort of protection barriers up around them, or at least Hermione's house." Ginny said.

"Or Moody could be watching over them." Ron pointed out. "From what I hear, he's been shadowing your both of your families since term ended, along with Dung and Ms. Figg."

"Well, that makes me feel a little better at any rate." Hermione said. They were silent for a few moments, and just watched while the girl unpacked their books and clothing, placing them on the desks and in the dresser drawers. "So, what do you think of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Hermione asked.

"Seems okay to me." Harry shrugged, plopping down on the nearest bed. "At least right now. Maybe she'll last longer than one year."

"As long as she doesn't have You-Know-Who sticking out the back of her head." Ron griped.

"Or if she's another Death Eater in disguise." Harry added.

"Or some ridiculous Ministry official bent on taking over Hogwarts." Hermione added testily.

"And don't forget a pompous, overbearing, air headed git who is so far stuck up his own arse that he can't see the light of day." Ginny called out from the confines of the closet. Harry gave Ron a questioning look, wondering what had possessed Ginny to be so nasty about Lockhart.

"She's still peeved that he was going to run away and not try to get her out of the Chamber." Ron whispered urgently to Harry.

"Professor Lupin is the only decent Defense teacher we've had." Hermione pointed out. "I hope she teaches like him."

The four teens finished up in the girl's room and made their way downstairs. Molly Weasley had managed to whip up enough food to feed the whole of Hogwarts while they were upstairs, and she quickly set to getting everyone fed. Harry judged by the amount of food present that there would be an Order meeting soon. When they had gotten situated at the table and began eating, the Weasley matriarch set down the rules for the evening.

"We're having an Order meeting this evening." she said briskly, placing another helping of shepard's pie on Harry's plate, despite the fact that he'd already eaten two. "So you four need to find something to keep yourselves occupied and out of the way."

Harry glanced over at his friends, seeing the looks of curiosity. If there was going to be a meeting, then it was highly probably that Snape had new news for Dumbledore. He wanted to know what was going on, but highly doubted that any of the adults would be willing to share the information. Sirius and Remus had been the only ones who had actually wanted him to know what was going on. Maybe he could talk to Remus later and try to find out what they were talking about.

"Have the Order members been able to find out anything else about what Voldemort is up to?" Harry asked. Molly seemed to slow down for a moment before continuing in her work.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." she said flatly. "And that's all I'm going to say." Harry reigned in his aggravation with being denied information, but held his tongue, not wanting to anger Mrs. Weasley. He all to clearly remembered the huge row between the short, plump woman and his god-father Sirius Black the year before at Grimmauld Place. It had not been a pretty sight, and he had no intentions of causing a repeat of the performance.

At least not right now.

When they had finished lunch, Harry and his friends decided to look around the grounds and see what they could find.

The back yard of the house was huge, and the fenced in are that Dr. Lee had deemed _'safe' _was roughly the size of two Quidditch pitches put together. The little grouping of building that stood behind the main house was the first place they headed.

"So where exactly are we, anyhow?" Harry asked as they walked towards the largest greenhouse.

"Don't know, mate." Ron said. "My guess is somewhere in Scotland." They opened the door to the glass building and stepped in. All around them, a multitude of plants, both magical and Muggle, stood. Harry quickly recognized and Abyssinian shrivelfig bush, a small Devil's Snare, and a Fanged Geranium among the bunches. It struck him as odd that Remus had told him no one had been living in Haven's Hollow for some time, especially when it looked like the plants in the greenhouse had been well taken care of.

"Someone needs to bring Neville in here." Ginny said, looking around in quiet appreciation. "He'd love this place. I don't even think Professor Sprout has some of these plants."

"She probably wouldn't." came a slightly amused female voice. Harry and the others spun around quickly, finding the woman who had been introduced as Sabine Meadows standing next to a table, a pair of pruning shears in her hands. "Many of these species are native only to other lands."

"Ms. Meadows," Hermione said. "we didn't disturb you, did we?" The auburn haired woman only smiled sweetly and shook her head.

"It's quite all right, Ms. Granger." she said. "I was just looking over some things to make sure they were in order. No harm done."

"Did you grow all this?" Ginny asked, fingering a crimson colored petal on a rose bush. "They're beautiful."

"Some of these are mine, yes." she said. "But not all of them. Dr. Lee allowed me to make use of the greenhouses during my time here."

"You live here, too?" Harry asked.

"Yes. So I'm afraid you'll be seeing me quite often." she said, placing the shears on a table next to a pile of pots. "So, what can I do for you four? Or are you just exploring a little?"

"Just looking." Harry said quickly. "Dr. Lee said we could look around if we wanted to."

"By all means, please do so." Ms. Meadows said. "I daresay we have not had much company here for a while."

"What is this?" Hermione asked suddenly, holding up a small green plant. "I've never seen it before. In fact, I've never seen any of these before." The bushy haired witch nodded to a large table top where a dozen or so pots stood. Ms. Meadows smiled and moved to the plants.

"This one is belladonna." she said, pointing to a group of three large pots. "It's used as a sedative in most cases, but is essential to a number of useful potions. This one," she said, pointing to a pot with odd shaped white flowers on it, "is called aconite. Also known as monkshood or wolfsbane."

"That's the basis of the Wolfsbane Potion, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking at the plant carefully.

"Yes, very good." Ms. Meadows said. "It can also be crushed down and put into an oil base to run into achy joints. Helps with some forms of arthritis."

"And this one?" Ginny asked, looking at a group of dark colored plants of different varieties.

"That is a highly poisonous plant called hellebore." Ms. Meadows said, sighing. "There's not really much it is useful for, but Dr. Lee thinks it could play a large role in one of her experimental potions she's been working on for quite some time."

"What is it a potion for?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not too sure, to be honest." the woman said. "It's called the Draught of Lazarus, and it's still in its beginning stages. That is all I know, other than she has been working on it for ages."

"You seem to know her well." Ron pointed out. "Dr. Lee, I mean."

"I've known her my entire life." the auburn haired woman said. Harry was about to ask her something else when a loud commotion startled them all.

The angry hoots of owls and the calls of other creatures fill the air around them. Harry noticed Ms. Meadows face go stern as she gathered up her robes and quickly left the greenhouse in a rush, mumbling under her breath. Harry and the others followed her, anxious to find out the cause of the commotion.

It did not take long to figure out that the racket was coming from the second building in the yard, the one Dr. Lee had said housed the animals that her children kept.

"Gabriel!" Ms. Meadows shouted, pushing open the door and looking in. "What is the meaning of this?" She stepped into the little building and began walking back into it. Hermione was the first to follow, and the Hogwarts students stopped in their tracks when they got into the seemingly small shed. The building, which appeared to be no more than a small shed from the outside, looked like some sort of tropical paradise on the inside.

There were lush plants all around them along the floor, and a small dirt path that led further back. There were vines crawling along the walls and windows, and the ceiling was a rich, forest canopy with moss handing from the branches. Harry looked closer and saw a steady line of ants marching along one of the lower branches as they walked. But what was perhaps the most amazing part of the inside, was the clear pool of water at the end of the pathway.

The pool was easily big enough to swim in, and could more accurately be considered a small lake. It was sparkling in the daylight that was coming through a large hole in the roof. Harry's attention, however, strayed when he heard another round of hoots and howls filling the air, this time accompanied by what was undoubtedly the growl of a dog.

"What's going on?" he asked when Ms. Meadows stopped walking and started looking around. "What's all the noise about?"

"I have no idea, Mr. Potter." she said huffily. "Gabe!"

"Back here!" came an angry male voice. Ms. Meadows followed the call, and lead them behind some thick underbrush to where Gabe Tartavu was standing, a frown on his face.

"What is going on?" she asked, her hands on her hips.  
"Brax be at it again." the man said, a slight accent in his voice. "He's pulling the tail feathers of the birds. Sent them up in a frenzy. Assyria got him, though. Pecked his eyes a good one."

"Where's he at now?" she asked, scanning the tree tops above the Hogwarts students.

"He took to the treetops where Sari was." he said. The man finally seemed to notice Harry and his friends standing behind Ms. Meadows. "Mr. Potter, how you doing? Who's your friends?"

"Oh, sorry, Gabe." Ms. Meadows said. "This is Hermione Granger, and Ron and Ginny Weasley."

"How do'a do?" he said, tilting his head in greeting to the teenagers. "Gabe Tartavu's the name."

"What's this place?" Ron asked, eyeing a spider web up in the corner of a wall.

"Shelter for the animals." the long haired man said. "Ah, here's me babies!" A flurry of wings came soaring through the opening in the roof, and quickly settled down on perches in the trees. Above them, Harry counted three different owls, a raven, a falcon, and what appeared to be a silvery-blue phoenix.

"Where's the rest?" Ms. Meadows asked.

"Kojack's runnin' round outside." the man said. "Hold on an' I'll get 'im." The man gave a sharp whistle and a large German Shepard came bounding into the room "There ya are, boy."

"Exactly how many animals are in here?" Hermione asked, eyeing the birds above her as they preened their wings.

"Enough, I assure you." Ms. Meadows said. She knelt down by the dog and scratched his ears. "Find Bandit, Kojack. Find Bandit." The dog's ears perked up, and he quickly started sniffing around the bushes, trying to find something.

"Sari's up in the tree." Mr. Tartavu said. "Lass probably already has Brax by now. I didn't tell the little bugger that she was up there. And you know she don' like 'im."

"I'll get them." she said. "It's time to feed them. Sari, come here, girl. And bring that blasted Brax with you, please."

"This guy is worse than Hagrid." Ron whispered to Harry. "What else is in here?"

Harry heard a defiant hiss fill his ears, and quickly shook his head. Beside him, he felt Ginny stiffen and tense up.

"I don't think I want to know." Harry said, swallowing a lump in his throat. A few moments later, they could see a large gray and white raccoon being lowered down from the tree tops, and it looked none too happy to have the coils of a snake holding it in one place.

"That's a snake!" Hermione said, stepping back away from the tree. Ginny trembled violently, taking another step back when the head of a large python come out of the canopy. The snake's head turned to peer at the newcomers while the other end coiled more tightly around the growling raccoon.

_'Ridiculous creature. Mistress is most displeased.' _Harry shook his head, trying to block the sound of the snake's condescending voice from his thoughts. He watched as Ms. Meadows walked over to the snake, reaching up with one hand to stroke the massive head, while grabbing the raccoon by the scruff of the neck.

"Thank you, dear." she said sweetly, pulling the raccoon out of the coils. "Caught him again, did you?"

_'You are welcome, mistress.'_

"Well, I think this is all of them."Mr. Tartavu said, taking a small black and brown ferret from Kojack's jaws. He placed the rat-like animal on a nearby branch and fed it something from his pocket.

Harry was about to question the sanity of these people when he notice something big and hairy on the branch nearest Ron's shoulder. He waited a moment, trying to figure out what it was. It did not take long to figure out that it was a large spider. It began its descent down the branch, and towards Ron's shoulder, and Harry almost panicked for his best friend.

"Uh, Ron?" Harry said carefully. "You might want to move."

"Huh? Why?" Ron asked, looking at him, confused.

"There is a very large spider behind you, Ron." Harry said calmly, not wanting to scare the red head. "Move." Ron's face instantly lost all its color and he stood shock still.

"Where?" he whispered. "Harry?"

"There he is." Gabe said happily, walking over to scoop up the hand sized spider and placing it on his shoulder. "Been wonderin' where the little guy got off to. Thanks, Ron."

"Not a problem." Ron squeaked after getting a good look at the tarantula on the man's shoulder.

"How many more surprises do you have in here?" Ginny asked, her eyes still on the large snake hanging from the tree branch. She hunched backwards, unconsciously stepping back to Harry's side and trying to hid herself from view.

Mr. Tartavu and Ms. Meadows looked over at them, various amounts of confusion on their faces.

"Not a friend of snakes, Ms. Weasley?" Ms. Meadows asked, concerned. "Sari won't hurt you."

_'Of course I won't.'_ the snake hissed. _'Unless you are that annoying creature Brax!'_ Harry couldn't help but chuckle, looking at the glowering raccoon still in the auburn haired woman's hand. _'Then I'll worry about the consequence later. I still don't see why mistress won't let me eat him and be done with it already.'_

Beside him, Ginny shivered again, and Harry put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"She won't hurt you, Ginny." he said. "The only one she wants to get right now is him." Harry pointed at the captured raccoon and grinned, causing the animal to hiss in defiance. Ms. Meadows looked surprised for a moment, but Hermione quickly informed her of Harry's unique ability.

"He's a Parselmouth." she said, as if it answered all the questions. The two adults nodded in understanding.

"Well, tell the little lass to calm herself." Mr. Tartavu said, looking at Ginny. "Send'er back up the tree, Sabine."

"Go on, Sari." Ms. Meadows said gently. "I'll take care of this one, and bring you some fat mice for dinner this evening."

_'You can turn him into a hat for all I care.'_ the snake hissed, looking right at the raccoon in the woman's hand. _'Although I mean the young human girl no harm.'_

_'**'We had a nasty little run in with a basilisk a few years ago, and she's been terrified of snakes ever since.'' **_Harry told the snake carefully. _'**'Give her time to get used to you, please.''**_

_'I am no basilisk.'_ the snake answered primly, coiling on herself and settling back into the tree, out of sight. _'Besides, mistress would be angry if I harmed the younger humans.'_

_'**'Thank you.''**_Harry said, turning back to the people surrounding him.

"Bloody hell! He is a Parselmouth!" Mr. Tartavu said.

"Well, Hermione wasn't lying about it, you know." Ron said scathingly, glaring at the man.

"I didn't mean to insinuate that the lass was." Mr. Tartavu said to Ron. "I've just never seen a human and snake talk to each other before."

"It is something to behold." Ms. Meadows said, nodding her head gravely. "You have quite a gift, Mr. Potter."

"Some wouldn't agree, I'm afraid." Harry answered sullenly.

"Don't worry about those close minded fools, dear." she said. "One day, their ignorance will be their downfall. Are you okay, Ms. Weasley?"

"Fine." Ginny said, her voice trembling slightly. "No problem."

"Well, since we are all here, I might as well make introductions, aye?" Mr. Tartavu said, gesturing to the assembled creatures. "Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, these are the family pets of Dr. Lee and her children. Those three lovely ladies are Assyria, Malon and Noah." He pointed to the three owls in the trees, who hooted in greeting. "The raven is Seraph, and the falcon is Dune. Bandit is our resident ferret, and this handsome gentleman is Freaky, the tarantula. And o'course, you already met Kojack."

"What about the phoenix?" Harry asked. "Who does it belong to?"

"Ariayan is Dr. Lee's." he said, calling the bird to his forearm after depositing the ferret and tarantula onto a nearby branch. "Dr. Lee has had her for quite a while, but we aren't sure where she came from, honestly. Just showed up at Dr. Lee's office one day, or so she says."

The bird was beautiful, and Harry began drawing comparisons between it and Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes. Where as Fawkes was scarlet and gold, Ariayan was dark blue and silver. She was also somewhat smaller than Fawkes. Harry reached out to stroked the phoenix's feathers, only to jump back when the bird let out a screech and lifted itself skyward.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, watching the bird circle above the grounds through the skylight.

"We've got company." Ms. Meadows said, peering through some vines and out the window, the mischievous raccoon still in her hands.

"Someone's getting a letter, too." Gabe commented, watching as a great horned owl flew through the skylight and dropped a letter at Hermione's feet. The girl picked it up, and upon recognizing the handwriting flushed pink before sliding it into her pocket.

"Gabriel, the rest are arriving; we need to get inside." Ms. Meadows said firmly.

"Aye, that we do." he answered, unburdening his pockets with owl treats and tossing them to the birds. "Let's go, then."

"You can stay in here if you want." Ms. Meadows said, turning to the four teenagers. "But I think there is a set of Quidditch balls in the shed, along with some spare brooms if you fancy a game."

"Thanks." Ron said, finally regaining his color somewhat. "We'll find them." The two adults nodded and left out quickly.

"I wonder if she realized she's still got that raccoon in her hands?" Ginny asked.

"With the way she's yelling at the poor thing, I'd say she does." Hermione said as they came out of the animal house. Ms. Meadows had brought the little animal up level with her face and was shaking her finger at it, apparently telling it off.

"Who's here that's so important?" Harry asked.

"Order members, mate." Ron said, nodding towards the entrance gate where two people were walking through.

"There's Shacklebolt and Emmaline Vance." Ginny said. "Got to be an Order meeting."

"Think we ought to see what's going on?" Ron asked. "I've still go a couple of George and Fred's Extendable Ears."

"It's worth a try." Harry said. Although he suspected that Mrs. Weasley or her husband had put an Impertuable charm on the door, rendering the Weasley's invention useless. "Let's go before we miss anything."

--------------------

The meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was a slightly hurried affair. After Sable and her children were introduced, Snape came forward to give his report. Since the members of the Order were only told that Sabine, Ailric, and Gabe were Dr. Lee's children, no one questioned anything, which worked fine for Sable. The less people that knew, the better.

She turned her attention back to the skinny, greasy aired man standing apposite her across the table. She took a good look at him and squelched down her instincts to run for cover. She hadn't seen or heard from Snape since the night of the attack. He had said nothing to her after she had been introduced, but the glares he'd been sending her way had spoken loud enough on their own.

Snape was suspicious. She had no doubt that Dumbledore had shared her information with theother Order members during the time she had been considered for the placement amongst the flock.And normally that would not have been a problem. But considering that there were certain bits and pieces missing from the profiles she had on record, she had no doubt that Snape was suspicious of her. Even in America, the sight of an unmarried witch with three half grownchildren was looked down upon somewhat by the older generations. Thankfully, he seemed to have passed over her three children in his perusal. But then again, they did not look anything like they normally would, should the spells and charms not be in place. She just steeled herself for the fight to come, knowing it would be one hell of a doozy.

Snapehad still retained the sour attitude and haughty air that had surrounded him while at Hogwarts as a student. His dark hair was lank and greased back on his head. Thankfully, he had not paid her much attention as of yet. She glanced over to her left where Gabe was sitting. Her son's expression gave away nothing, but his body language was enough to put her on edge. She glanced at Remus, who was sitting across the table and to Snape's right. The werewolf seemed just as concerned as her about this meeting. They had decided to break the news to Snape after the meeting, and she was worried sick.

"…somewhere in Stratford. Although I am not precisely sure as to where, yet." Snape said, breaking Sable's intense concentration on what was to come and forcing her back into reality.

"There are many of our students living in that area." McGonagall said. "Is he targeting the students on purpose, Severus?"

"Not as far as I can tell." Snape replied. "He seems to be trying to work his way north. I have heard rumors of a plan to overtake Azkaban and use it as a centralized location to launch attacks."

"He's going after Malfoy." Bill Weasley said, grimacing. "Is there anyway to stop him?"

"We can reinforce security there." Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "The Dementors have fled to Voldemort's side, though. I doubt we'd be able to drive them back if they decide to attack, given the wizard power on the island. A half dozen witches and wizards is not enough to hold off an entire army of Dementors."

"Dr. Lee?" Dumbledore said, addressing her directly. "You still hold your chair in the International Confederation of Wizards, do you not?"

"Yes, I do." she said, nodding, wondering where this was going.

"Can you get the security in Azkaban reinforced?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"How many do you believe we need?" she asked, turning to the headmaster.

"As many as we can get." McGonagall said, shaking her head.

"I'll get to work on it immediately." she said. "And do what I can."

"Very good." Dumbledore said. "I do believe this concludes our meeting, ladies and gentlemen." He stood up and looked around the table. "Molly has prepared a delicious meal for those who wish to eat. To everyone else, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Severus, could I see you for a moment before you leave, if you please?"

As the people in the room began shifting and rising from their seats, Sable glanced over at Remus and frowned. Things were about to get ugly.

"You okay, mum?" Ailric asked a couple minutes later as they walked out the kitchen and towards the living room. "You ready to go through with this?"

"I'm fine." she said. "It has to be done sooner or later, after all."

"I can't believe that grumpy bastard is my father." Gabe said skeptically, shaking his head. Sabine muttered something to herself, but refrained from commenting out loud. Sable looked a the doorway leading into the living room, seeing Dumbledore standing there wit Remus and Snape.

"We'll be right outside if you need us, mum." Gabe said, loud enough for the men to hear.

"Thanks, hon." Sable said, patting him on the shoulder. She squared her shoulders and walked to the men, bound damned and determined to knock that condescending look off Snape's face. "Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen. Shall we?" she walked into the room, allowing them to follow before discretely soundproofing the room with a charm. They took a seat and Sable refused to meet Snape's calculating gaze when he swept it over her.

"Severus, I wanted to discuss Harry's Occulemency lessons." Dumbledore said. "My concern is still present, more so now that before. And I would like to know that he is safe from anymore of Voldemort's mind tricks. Considering the relationship between you and the boy, I think it is prudent to hand the lessons over to Dr. Lee." Snape only grunted and glared at her, and Sable wished she'd have a glass of water around her because her throat had gone dry.

"The boy is incapable of grasping the concepts need to learn Occulemency, let alone master it enough to keep Voldemort out of his pathetic mind." the man sneered. Sable's head shot up and she looked over at Remus, who was frowning and clenching his fists at his side with Snape's attitude. Apparently, this was Snape's normal attitude where Harry and his friends were concerned, and she didn't think it was based solely on the inter-house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"How far did you get with him, Professor Snape?" she asked, pining the Potion's master with a cold glare. "Did he learn the basics of defense?"

"He learned enough to keep himself alive, obviously." Snape said skeptically.

"Well, I'll be taking over his lessons from this point forward." Sable said. "As long as he is willing to learn."

"That boy is as thick headed and egotistical as his father, Dr. Lee." Snape said icily. "If he doesn't want to learn it, he won't. And Potter does not want to learn it."

"I take it you knew Harry's parents, then?" Dr. Lee asked, her voice tightly controlled. "Were either of them versed in Occulemency?"

"His mother was." Snape said. "She was quite good. However, it seemed he took after his father more than his mother, unfortunately. Lily Potter's mastery of charms helped her profusely during her training from what I'd heard. Unfortunately, the only thing Potter is well versed in is the ability to make trouble."

"I am beginning to think it was not the student's fault, as far as Harry not learning anything is concerned." Sable said firmly.

"Potter's inability to grasp basic concepts of mind defense is not my fault." Snape stated, practically growling at her. "The boy is a nuisance, just like his father."

"Can we leave James out of this?" Remus asked, his own anger almost at its breaking point. "We've already established the fact that Harry is like James. Let it go already, Severus. Your animosity towards James should not be carried out on Harry. It's not the boy's fault!"

"It probably would have been better if he hadn't pulled your ungrateful arse from underneath that tree in sixth year." Sable said angrily, glaring at Snape and standing from the chair she was sitting in. "Maybe changing you into a werewolf would have improved you rotten disposition. Because Merlin knows it's no better than it was the last time I saw you!"

Snape's body stiffened immediately, and Sable instantly regretted letting her anger overcome her common sense. His dark eyes were boring so hard into her back that she could almost feel the heat.

"Severus…." Dumbledore began. But the man rose from his spot on the couch and stalked over to where she was standing. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around.

"Who are you, woman?" he snarled, anger flashing from his eyes.

"Someone who is supposed to be dead, at least as far as you know." she said haughtily, not even trying to break his painful grasp on her shoulders.

"Who are you!" Snape howled, shaking her roughly.

"That's enough, Snape." Remus said firmly, trying to get between them. "Let her go."

"It's okay, Remus." she said, looking at the angered werewolf. "Let him go. Let him think about it." Remus took a step back and Dumbledore walked towards them, but neither Snape or Sable noticed.

"Answer me, woman." Snape said imperiously.

"Think, Snape." she said, reaching up to grab his forearm in her hand. She felt the electric-like pulse shoot through her body that happened when one marked Death Eater came into contact with another. Snape's eyes widened in shock, and Sable could swear she saw fear in his eyes. But she still didn't let go of him. "Bellatrix Black was not the only woman that maniac ever marked."

"Who…..There is no possible way....."

"Sixteen years ago, you saw me cowering on the floor of Zabini's mansion." she said darkly, her grip tightening as he tried to pull away from her. "You watched as your Lord and master murdered my parents in front of my eyes. Don't tell you've forgotten already, Severus." She let his forearm go and walked back over to the chair she had abandoned in her anger, sitting on the arm of it, her arms folded across her chest.

"There's no way." Snape spat. "That girl is dead! Albus, what is the meaning of this?"

"She speaks the truth, Snape." Remus said firmly. "I didn't want to believe it myself, either, but…."

"You expect me to believe that this woman is Sable Robbins?" he spat. "Impossible. She's dead."

"Nothing is impossible, Severus, only improbable." Dumbledore said sadly.

"I don't believe it." he said, shaking his head, although he seemed much paler than he had been only moments before. And he kept taking small steps backwards from where she was sitting. The man was truly rattled by the change of things.

"Don't believe me, do you?" she asked, pulling off her robe and unbuttoning the bottom three buttons of her shirt, then lifting it up to reveal her navel, and the dark pair of snakes that had been tattooed across her waist so long ago. "Then where the bloody hell do you think I got this from?"

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_A/N - I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I don't have much to say now, so………_

_Later,_

_A.A._

_Oh, and please remember to review. I want to know what you think about the story. ;)_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer **- It's not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are the ones not associated with the HP universe at this point in time. _

_A/N - Special thanks to my ever faithful reviewers. I love all of you._

_**ElspethBates** - Thanks for the review, and here you go. _

_**wolvesaremylife **- His reaction is right here. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy._

_**Sarah** - Well, Snape probably would have realized it sooner, had it been anyone else. But think about it. If you thought someone had died, and then sixteen years later, they pop up, wouldn't you be questioning yourself as well? And you're about to see Harry get his answers. And as for the vernacular of the British, I am afraid that my knowledge of their ways of speaking is severly limited. However, I did go back and edit the last chapter. And I will try to keep it in context from here on out. Thank you so much for the suggestion, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again._

_**AnGeL-GiRl-XxX **- You live near there, huh? Go figure. Send me a description of the town and I'll use it in the story. I've never been there, so I'm a little short on information. And yes, Snape is going to be quite upset...just wait and see. As for that raccoon..well, let's just say that it has a very bad habit of popping up where it is not supposed to and annoying the animals. But, like Sari said, she can't hurt the young ones...or her mistress would be angry. Anyhow, thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

-

_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 7_

_Trouble in the Camp_

-

After leaving their mother to deal with Snape, Sabine and her brothers went to a nearby room, ears alert for any sounds of problems emmanating from the place where she was.

"You know he's going to explode, don't you" Ailric said as they each plopped down on a couch or chair. "I'm surprised there hasn't been any yelling yet."

"They just got in there. Give her time to prepare him before she drops the bomb on him like that." Sabine said.

"Well, there's a fifty-fifty chance he'll go either way." Ailric said optimistically. "He may be happy about you, Gabe."

"You do realize that anytime there is a fifty-fifty chance of something happening the way you expect it you, then there is a ninety percent probability that it is going to get screwed up somehow, don't you" Gabe asked stoically, the accent gone from his voice now that he was away from Harry and the other teenagers.

"Well, your optimism is just a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, isn't it" his brother asked dryly. Despite the fact that the three sibling were drastically altered in physical appearances, it did not stop them from their normal, everyday bickering. Only now, they had to be sure that neither Harry, nor any of his friends, was louting about as they argued. After all, they were supposed to be fully grown, mature witches and wizards, not three snappish sixteen year old siblings.

"I am a born pessimist, and you know that." Gabe said. "If you don't expect something good to happen, then you will not be nearly as disappointed when it doesn't."

"That's morbid." Sabine said, shaking her head. "True. But morbid none the less. Please keep your ideas to yourself around Potter, will you? The boy's depressed enough as it is."

"Well if your god-father had just kicked the bucket a few weeks ago, I don't think you'd be too happy either." Gabe pointed out. "Add that to the small fact that the boy has a bounty on his head from Voldemort, and it is plausible that he's going to be a little off-set."

"He's not mental." Ailric said, looking at his brother. "He seems fine to me. Just as snae as you and I."

"And that is supposed to be reassuring" Sabine muttered, watching as Gabe's face tightened. At first, she thought he was about to get on her for picking on him, but when he looked towards the living room where their mom was, a frown on his face, their friendly arguing stopped immediately.

"Problems" Ailric asked, knowing that his brother's lycan-heightened hearing was better than his own on the worst of days.

"Yes. We should go, quickly." Gabe said, utterly serious now. The three siblings left the room and made for the living room door, only to meet a very angered Snape coming out. Sabine, ever the bold one, stepped right in front of him, glaring when she heard her mother let loose a string of curses.

"What happened" she asked the glowering man who stood at least six inches taller than herself. "What's all the commotion about"

"Get out of my way." Snape growled.

"Where's she at" Ailric asked, glaing at the man standing before his sister while Gabe went to check on their mother.

"If you mean that lying abomination you call a doctor, then she's with the werewolf." Snape barked. "Now get out of my way"

"Abomination" Sabine asked, internally cringing at the cruelty in his words. "How dare you..."

"What I chose to call that woman is none of your concern." Snape sneered. "Especially when the three of you are no better than she is" The angered Potion's master reached out and roughly pushed Sabine from out of his way, causing her to fall against the wall behind them. Sable, who had just exited the living room, saw her daughter fall and immediately pulled her wand, training it on Snape's chest right along with her two sons. Snape turned when he heard the warning grolw and took a step back from the three wands.

"You bastard" Sable hissed, her anger overflowing and her protective instincts on high alert. "If you ever lay your hands on her again, you'll wish Voldemort had killed you years ago."

"Dr. Lee..." Dumbledore said gently, trying to calm the distraught woman down before she killed the man standing in front of her.

"I don't want to hear it, Albus." she growled. "It's one thing to be mad at me, but you do NOT lay a hand on them." Remus, who had noticed two red heads at that top of the banister casing, along with a set of confused green eyes, and bushy brown hair, quickly intervened before anything else could be said.

"We have company present." he said firmly, walking to Sable's side, and nodding towards the staircase. The woman's eyes flicked upwards, and she slowly lowered her wand before turning back to Snape, the death glare still apparent on her face.

"If you value your life, and what is left of you sanity, then I suggest you get out of here now, and don't come back until you learn to keep your hands to yourself." she said quietly. Snape only glowered, then turned and left out the doors, his black robes billowing out behind him.

Harry's brow was furrowed in concentration as he watched his Potion's Professor storm out of the safehouse. As one of Snape's most despised students, he was used to having the patented death glares and all around sorry attitude directed at him. He'd made Snape angry on a fair number of occassions, but he'd never seen the grease-haired slimeball ever get to the point of using brute force on him or any of the other students.

Now, he could see why the Potions' Master had gained so much respect among Voldemort's inner circle as a Death Eater.

Below him, he could see Mr. Robbins help Ms. Meadows up from the floor and lead her towards the kitchen. Dr. Lee and Remus exchanged a few hushed words with Dumbledore before they all split ways, Dr. Lee and Mr. Tartavu going towards the kitchen, while Remus and Dumbledore disappeared outside.

"What do you think all that was about" Hermione asked nervously, apparently watching the door to see if Snape would return.

"Not a bloody clue." Ron said with a low whistle. "Ol' greasy looked mad though, I mean, even worse than normal. Wonder why?"

"He called someone an _abomination_." Ginny said, shaking her head. "I didn't catch all of it, but it sounded like he was referring to Dr. Lee." Harry just shrugged when she looked over at him as if to get confirmation of her suspicion; he wasn't sure what to think about it.

The four of them had been in the hallway on their way to the boy's room when they'd hear the familiar sound of Snape's angry voice carry up the stairs. they had rushed out, wanting to find out what was going on, and had seen when Snape had pushed Ms. Meadows out of his way, along with everything else after that.

"Well, whatever it was has everyone in a right state." Ron said. "I swear Professor Lee looked like she was about to _Avada_ him right on the spot. And what's she done to make him so mad anyway? I didn't figure he knew her well enough to be mad at her yet."

"I don't know." Harry answer solemnly. "Something's wrong, though. Snape didn't even look that angry when he found out Sirius had escaped and he had lost the Order of Merlin at the end of our third year." Silence reigned for a few minutes, all of them remembering the racket Snape had made when he'd found out Sirius had seemingly escaped from the highest tower in Hogwart's castle and vanished without a trace.

"Uh, how about we go see if we can find that Quidditch set Dr. Lee told us about" Ginny asked, desperately trying to change the subject. "She said there should be one in the old shed out back, didn't she"

"Yeah, let's get out of here before Snape decides to come back and level the house with everyone still in it." Ron said, grateful to his sister for attempting to steer the subject away from Snape or Sirius. He motioned to Harry and the two boys went to retrieve their brooms while Hermione grabbed a book to read.

By the time they had gotten down the staris, Dr. Lee was standing outside the living room with Remus. When they got closer, Dr. Lee turned to face them. It seemed like she had calmed down a little, and was not going to hex any of them for some unspecific reason.

"Hello, children." she said. "Where are you headed"

"We're going to play some Quidditch." Harry said. "Ms. Meadows said there was a Quidditch set in the outside shed we could use."

"That's fine." Remus said. "Just be careful and get either Ailric or Gabe to charm the balls to stay within the barrier. "

"We'll do that." Harry said.

"We saw what Professor Snape did." Hermione said quietly. "Is Ms. Meadows okay?"

"She's fine." Dr. Lee said, a small smile on her face. "A little dizzy when she hit her head, but she's fine. Thank you for your concern." Hermione just nodded and they started to walk out, but Dr. Lee stopped Harry.

"Mr. Potter, one thing before you go." she said. Harry looked at her and nodded, waiting for her to continue. "I was hoping that I could speak with you after dinner this evening. Would you mind"

"Something wrong" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment." she said. "There are just some things I would like to discuss with you."

"Okay." he said, wondering what she could possibly want with him. "What time? Where?"

"Come by the library sometime before you go to bed." she said. "I am usually up late, so whenever you get there will be fine." Harry just nodded and walked out the doors, leaving Remus and Dr. Lee to stare at him as he went.

When he was out of the house, and safely out of hearing range, Sable groaned and shook her head as she walked into the room she'd exited earlier. She sat down on the over-stuffed chair and sighed.

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that Harry doesn't like me" she asked no one in particular.

"Give him time and he will come around." Remus said, walking over to a table and pulling out a crystal decanter and small glass. He poured some of the amber liquid into the glass and handed it to Sable, who took it absently. "Drink that and calm down."

"I don't need the alcohol to calm my nerves, Remus." she said, swirling the liquid in the glass.

"Well, the only other thing that will calm you down right now is cursing Snape into the afterlife for hitting Sabine." he pointed out rationally. "And since he's not here at the moment, and seeing how I have no desire to be used as target practice, alcohol is the next best thing."

"I see you have your priorities set." she mumbled after downing the contents of the glass and grimacing as the burning sensation settled down her throat and into her stomach. She never was much of a drinker.

"Funny." he said, sitting down across from her. "You okay?"

"For now. At least until I see Snape again." she ground out. "The bastard didn't even let me finish explaining before he left!"

"Yes, well, Severus never did like to hear things that threw him for a loop." Remus pointed out.

"Some things never change, I suppose." Sable said, shaking her head ruefully. "Reassuring, huh?"

"He'll come around." Remus reassured her.

"You're saying that to me an awful lot lately." she pointed out. "But I'll bank on Harry coming around before Snape even considers it." Remus just shook his head. Snape had barely stayed for two seconds after she had broke the truth to him and shown him the Mark on her stomach. He had not even given her a chance to tell him that Gabe was his son, or that Sabine could possibly be his daughter. All he'd done after Sable had shown him the Dark Mark was get angry and storm out.

Yes, Snape's reaction was pretty much just the way he'd expected it would be. The surly man was not someone with whom it was easy to get along with on the best of days, and the knowledge that he could possibly be a father...well...it only made it worse.

Remus looked over at the woman sitting across from him very carefully. The hurt was evident , and she had an expression on her face that Remus realized was a mix of her doubting herself, and questioning her actions. He'd seen it countless times before when they were in school, and she was working on a complicated assignment. Her head was balanced in her hands, her elbows on her knees. Small pieces of her hair had come out of the thick braid and was hanging around her face.

She looked so much older at that single moment than she had since he'd seen her again.

When he'd first found out it was her, he'd been utterly surprised at her seemingly youthful appearance, which was so unlike his own. But now, the white streaks in her hair seemed more apparent, and the beginning of laugh lines could be seen around her eyes. She was no longer the same girl she had been while they were in school, and she had just seen one of her greatest fears materialize in front of her.

Snape had practically rejected not only one, but possibly two, of her darling children.

Not knowing what to do, and wishing he could remove the distraught look on her face, Remus rose from his seat and walked over, enveloping her in a hug and hoping to reassure her. She seemed shocked by the contact and jumped slightly, causing him to half-grin despite the severitey of the situation.

"What are you doing" she asked. "You're supposed to be mad at me too, remember"

"Would you like me to go get Severus again" he asked dryly. She just shook her had and muttered_ 'no'_. "And I am still angry with you, just not as much as him right now."

"Lesser of two evils. Makes sense." she said, unconsciously burrowing into his embrace. He said nothing, and just held her for a few moments longer until she pulled away from him, a sad smile of confusion on her face. "I need to go check on the kids and see if Ailric's sent out a head-hunting party for Snape yet."

"Go on, and make sure they're alright." he said quietly, letting her go. Sable nodded and turned, walking towards the door. As she left, Remus could almost swear he head a hearfelt whisper of _'Thank you.' _before she shut the door.

-

When the sun had set that evening, and the entirety of Haven's Hollow had eaten dinner and dispersed afterwards, Harry headed for Dr. Lee's library. He was not sure what she wanted to talk to him about, but he knew what he wanted to say.

He had thought about it all day long as he, Ron and Ginny had played Quidditch. He'd had enough of being kept in the dark as far as Voldemort was concerned. Sirius had been the only one who had agreed to let him know what was going on the year before, and even then Dumbledore had restricted it to the barest of facts. Now, however, he was ready to fight the entire Order to know what was going on. As he reached for the door, he heard the combined laughter of Dr. Lee, along with the rich chuckle he had come to associate with Remus on the rare occasions that the man had cause to laugh. He stilled immediately, wondering if he should leave and come back later, but Remus had apparently heard him arriving, and did not give him any time to move away from the door.

"Come in, Harry." he called out. Harry pushed the door open and walked in, shutting it behind him. He took the seat across from Remus and turned to Dr. Lee. The woman was sitting behind her desk and trying to calm herself down from the burst of laughter he'd heard when he had come down.

"Am I interrupting anything" he asked.

"Of course not, Mr. Potter." she answered. "Not at all."

"You wanted me for something" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about continuing your Occulemency lessons, Mr. Potter." she said. "Headmaster Dumbldeore informed me that you were taking them under the tutelage of Professor Snape for a while, but things went rather...awry."

"That's one way of putting it, yes." he answered. "Who am I supposed to be learning from then? Snape refused to teach me anything else."

"Her." Remus said, pointing to Dr. Lee. "That is if you agree, of course. No one is going to force you to continue with them, but given the state of things and your connection to Voldemort, I'd highly reccomend continuing them."

"The state of things" Harry asked, eyeing the man somewhat angrily. "What exactly is the _'state of things' _anyhow"

"Voldemort is gaining power, Harry." Dr. Lee said firmly, recogninzing the underlying anger in the boy and readying herself for a fight. She had not raised Snape's and Lupin's sons and not had her fair share of fights between them and herself. "You know that just as well, if not more so, than the rest of us. Continuing your Occulemency studies will help you protect not only yourself, but your friends as well. It will also stop any more senseless deaths from occuring."

"Senseless deaths..." Harry asked, his temper coming to the surface with the mention of his god-father. "You mean Sirius, don't you"

"Yes, I do." she said, nodding.

"So it's my fault he's dead, is that what you're saying" Harry asked loudly, jumping to his feet in defense. "If I'd have been able to do Occulemency, then Sirius would be alive! I'd have been able to know Voldemort was lying to me? Is that what you think"

"Harry, calm down." Remus said, trying to placate the teenager. "That's not what we meant."

"That's what she said" he yelled, pointing a finger at Dr. Lee, who was still sitting calmly at her desk. "She's saying it's my fault! But if someone would have told me what the Order was up to, and what Voldemort was going after, then I'd have known"

"Are you quite finished yet, Mr. Potter" Dr. Lee asked, her own temper being forcibly reigned in. "Or do you plan on going on like this all night and completely ignoring what I called you down here for to begin with"

"I'm leaving." Harry said, walking towards the door. "I'm not listening to this."

"You're not going anywhere right now, young man." Dr. Lee said, using her wand and a few quick spells to lock the door, silence the room, and disarm him of his own wand. "Not until you calm yourself and listen to what I have to say."

"Remus" Harry asked, turning to the werewolf, looking for some back up against the woman. Unfortunately for him, it seemed as though his ex-Professor had already chosen which side to take, and it wasn't his.

"Listen to her, Harry." was all he said. Harry huffed and sat down in the chair nrxt to the man, glaring across the desk at Dr. Lee and refusing to say a word.

"That's better." she said forcibly. "Now, listen to me, Potter. What happened to Sirius was not your fault alone. If the blame has to be placed then it should be placed appropriately. Now, I agree that you should have been informed more than what you were. I agree that the Occulemency lessons helped very little during the battle. I still haven't figured out how you managed to push Voldemort out of your head with such little practice. I'll even go as far as to agree that Dumbledore is mostly to blame for what happened at the Deprtment of Mysteries. But what I will not agree with is Lily and James' son driving himself crazy and into a bottomless depression because he thinks he's the only one to blame for his god-father's supposed death"

"Get to the point already." Harry said moodily.

"You asked before if you could be informed as to what the Order found out." Remus said, much more calmly than Harry felt. "I, along with the majority of the Order, was reluctant to tell you, but knew you needed to know at least something. And a few others thought that it was none of your business at all."

"When you are eight years old, nothing is your business." Harry snapped, glaring at them even more. "I'm not that eight anymore. You didn't tell me, and look what happened"

"Now, however, Dr. Lee and I have decided to go against the wishes of the Order, including Dumbledore, and tell you what we know." Remus continued smoothly.

"Lot of good it's going to do! They've already taken Sirius from me!" he barked. "I don't care anymore what happens!"

That seemed to strike the wrong chord in Dr. Lee, because she rose from her desk and planted her hands on either side, then leaned down closer to Harry.

"So you wouldn't care if Hermione was murdered?" Dr. Lee asked, her voice cold and calculating. Harry blanched and sat back, looking at the woman, completely dumbstruck.

"What?" he asked stupidly.

"Her family was attacked earlier today, Potter. Or have you forgotten that already?" she asked. "What about Ron, your best friend? Or Neville, another one who helped you in the Department of Mysteries not so long ago? Perhaps, you'd rather see Ginny at the hands of Voldemort and his twisted minions. The girl has already had one encounter with Tom Riddle, and I don't think she's so keen on seeing him again."

"That's enough, Dr. Lee." Remus said, watching as Harry paled considerably with each word that the woman uttered.

"Or better yet, how about we just let them wipe out the entire Weasley family. All of them, gone." She said, slashing her hand towards him, then sitting back down. "Do you still not care, Mr. Potter? What about the man sitting beside you? Would you so easily turn Remus over to the Dementors?"

"That's enough, Sable!" Remus yelled, standing up and glaring at her. But Harry did not even recognize the werewolf's anger, for he was too busy picturing the scene in Grimmauld place when Mrs. Weasley had encountered the boggart in the upstairs writing desk, and it had turned into her husband and children alternately, each one bloody, beaten and dead.

"...it's not, Remus." Dr. Lee was saying when Harry zoned back into the discussion. "He has to reailze that if he gives up now, then all of us our in trouble. And babying him and trying to hide the truth from him like Molly has been doing is not going to make things any better. It's his head on the line, don't you think he should have some say in what happens to himself"

"What are you getting at?" Harry asked, looking at her carefully.

"Your friends are your dearest treasures, Harry." Remus said carefully. "Voldemort's ability to _'posess' _you is bad news. But if he can do it again without you fighting him, it could possibly come to him ordering you to harm, or even kill, someone close to you. Not to mention any information we tell you, he can pick up through the link present in that scar."

"In other words, unless you want to run the risk of _Avada_'ing your best friends, and the ones trying to keep you alive, you need to learn to protect yourself." Dr. Lee said. "I can help you; if you're willing to try. But I tell you now, if you want to know what is going on within the Order, you have to let me help you learn Occulemency better than you already know it. If Voldemort realizes that we have a spy amongst his followers, he'll kill them without a second thought. Then our slight advantage is gone."

A knock at the door caused Dr. Lee to shake her head and get up from the desk to go see who it was. Harry turned around when he heard Mrs. Weasley's voice and frowned when Dr. Lee shut the door, leaving him and Remus alone. The silence was deafening, and Harry just glared at the air space in front of him.

"Is she trustworthy?" he finally asked Remus, not even looking at the man beside him.

"Yes." Remus answered. "You can trust her, Harry. She can help you."

"I don't know if I want help from someone like her." he said sullenly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Take a few days and think about it, will you" Remus asked. "I'm leaving in the morning for Stratford to do some reconnaisance work for the Order, so I won't see you for a while. At least tell me that you will consider continuing the lessons with her."

"I'll think about it." he said huffily, glaring at the wall beyond Dr. Lee's desk. "She's as bad as Snape." Remus only chuckled and shook his head.

"She's the mother of two boys not much older than yourself, Harry." he said. "And from what I've seen, he no-nonsense way of handling most things has helped them a great deal."

"She's pushy." he said.

"Give her a chance." Remus said. "She lost her parents to Voldemort when she was seventeen, and it hurt her bad. Her need for revenge is strong, and when your parents were killed...and now Sirius...well, it kind of put the final nail in the coffin. She has just as many reasons to hate Voldemort as you do. And as Lily and James' only child, she wants to help you anyway she can."

Harry remained silent, not knowing what to say to that.

"She fixed Sirius' two wy mirror." he said quietly.

"She would do that." he answered. "She really is a very good person at heart, Harry. She's just...plain spoken at times."

"I call it like I see it, Remus." came Dr. Lee's amused voice. "I always have, as you very well know." Remus and Harry turned around quickly, spotting the woman in question standing in the doorway. Harry had not even heard her come back in.

"Everything okay? What did Molly need?" Remus asked.

"We're running low on some things. Looks like I'll be taking a trip to Diagon Alley soon." she said, folding her hands together and placing them on the desk as she sat back down. "Have you decided if you are going to continue you lessons, Mr. Potter."

"I'll think about it and let you know." he said.

"Fine then. That's all I needed to know." she said.

"Am I done then?" he asked, rising from his chair. Dr. Lee nodded and tossed his wand back at him.

"Goodnight, Harry." Remus said.

" 'Night." the boy muttered as he walked out, slamming the door none too gently in his wake. When he was gone, Remus rounded on Sable.

"What was that about" he asked, glaring at her. "He's been through enough lately without someone dredging up Sirius' name. And what about the whole bit about him killing his friends"

"I realize quite well what he's gone through." she said firmly. "But it is a possibility that Voldemort could use the link to cause Harry to harm another person. Dumbledore's told me what happened in the Department of Mysteries, and I still can't figure out how Harry got lose of Voldemort's grasp. Until we figure out how, or what, severed that connection, it's not a risk we can take."

"Harry's no killer." Remus said flatly. "He wouldn't hurt his friends."

"Not intentionally, he wouldn't." she said. "But then again, I am relatively sure Ginny Weasley never intentionally set out to realease a seventy foot basilisk among the student population at Hogwart's either."

"So you're trying to scare him into taking Occulemency" Remus asked.

"Fear is a good motivator. It works when nothing else does." Sable said, shrugging her shoulders.

"That's no different that emotional black-mail" Remus said angrily. "You can't hang his friend's lives over his head like that."

"Don't give me that bull, Remus." she said. "Voldemort does not play fair, and you know that as well as I do. If it takes a round-about threat to his friends to get him to portect himself, then so be it. Besides, the threat is already showing itself. Look at what happened to Hermione's family. Do you honestly think those Death Eaters would have let her or her parents live had they been there?"

Remus had to concede that she had a valid point. The attack on the Granger's was not going to be an isolated incident, of that he was sure. And that was one of the reasons he was leaving for Stratford the next day.

Snape had told them of a rumor for a number of Death Eates to gather on the outskirts of the city in an out of the way pub to plan the attack on a nearby village. He had been delegated the task of watching the pub for anyone who may look suspicious, and then alerting Dumbledore as quickly as possibly to hopefully minimize the casualties. The headmaster had already sent warnings to the families of Hogwarts students, along with many others, telling them to be wary.

"It's getting late." he said absently, his anger temporarily abated with her, as the clock on the wall struck nine o'clock. Sable nodded and pulled out some papers from her desk, allowing the arguement to drop completely.

"Get some sleep. You've got to leave early in the morning." she said absently.

"Good night, then." he said, leaving her alone to do whatever it was she was working on. He had work to do before he could go to bed, and it wasn't going to finish itself.

-

That morning, as Remus threw a spare set of robes into a bag and shrunk it down to fit in his pocket, he noticed an envelope that had been slipped under his door. He picked it up and brike the seal, reading the note to himself in the dying candlelight.

**_Remus,_**

_**I'm sorry for being such a bitch last night. I'm just worried about Harry and the other children. I know it's not a good excuse, but it is the truth.**_

_**Have a good trip and bring yourself back here soon...and in one piece.**_

_**Yours, **_

_**S.R.**_

Remus just shook his head and smiled gently, tucking the note into his pocket and leaving his room. They could never really stay mad at each other when they were at school, except for a few major fights they'd gotten into. And Sable had never been the one to concede defeat first and apologize. Most of the time, he'd been the first to come back and apologize.

It seemed that even after sixteen years, she could still surprise him when she least tried.

-

_A/N - Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one should hopefully be out soon...maybe. Not sure yet. _

_Anyhow, remember to review, I want to know what you are thinking. Besides, they make great Birthday presents, and today's my birthday:)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was._

_A/N - And I would like to give a special thanks out to the following people who were absolute dears and reviewed, (as well as wishing me a happy belated birthday)the last chapter:_

_**Sarah** -__I'm glad you liked the chapter. Sable is kinda forward, isn't she? Reminds me of someone else I know... Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter. And sorry it took so long for me to get out. _

_**angel-girl-xxx** : Thanks forthe wishes. I do plan on using the description within the next few chapters. So, watch out for it. Thanks for being a faithful reviewer, as your comments continue to help out. Lotsa love to you!_

_**Nimrodel Telcontar** - Brazil, huh? Cool. I always wanted to go there. I'm glad you like this story. Heck, even I think I like it better than the origial. Weird, eh? As for Harry finding out about the two of them...it will come in time. He will get to see more than he needs to, that much is for sure! Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter._

_**Camilinh **- Sorry about the delay. Things have been hectic around here lately. Hope this makes up for it. And the little talk between Remus and Ailric will come next chapter. Promise. :) Later. And I hope you finally got a break away from your job. ;)_

_-_

_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter Eight_

_A Much Needed Lesson on Family_

_-_

Harry jumped as Hermione dropped another book onto the desktop, causing dust to go flying all over the place. He, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all currently sitting in the large office of Dr. Lee's working on the summer homework they had been assigned by the professors before the end of last term. Despite the fact that the leaving fifth years had had to endure the O.W.L.'s at to the end of term, many of the professors had deemed it necessary to send them home with an exorbent amount of homework.

Snape and McGonagall seemed to be the worse of the two. Of course, the half dozen or so essays that Flitwick had set for them to finish was nothing to sneeze at. Suffice to say, all four of the Hogwarts students were up to their necks in parchment, quills, and ink pots.

Harry was on the worst end of it now, especially since he had agreed to begin Occulemency lessons with Dr. Lee later on that evening, and needed to get as much done as possible. After that nice little explosion in her office the other evening with Remus, Harry had come to understand how the woman thought, at least a little more.

It had not taken long to see that Dr. Lee was almost the complete polar opposite of Mrs. Weasley, at least as far as Harry's involvement with Order matters was concerned. Mrs. Weasley still fervently believed that Harry did not need to know what was going on, or at least know the bare minimum of facts if any, considering he was not a member of the Order. But Dr. Lee, however, had her own ideas of what was right.

And her idea of what was right included Harry knowing what was going on. Needless to say, the two women had been on uneasy terms since Dr. Lee had voiced her opinion a few days before on Harry continuing his Occulemency lessons with her, and the Weasley matriarch saying there was no use in putting Harry through any more torture by delving into his memories. Harry had heard Mr. Weasley latercomment that he'd rather _'…face Voldemort any day of the week before getting between two grown women trying to run the same house..'_ And Harry could see where the sense was in that.

Mrs. Weasley, who usually had a large number of people at the Burrow to coddle and look after, was somewhat out of place at Haven's Hollow, where Dr. Lee ran most of the day to day activities. Even Ron and Ginny had noticed that their mother avoided the place whenever possible. Harry just thought she stayed away because she didn't like Dr. Lee all that much.

"I think I've found something that will help with that Charms essay you are working on, Harry." Hermione said, taking her seat at the desk and flipping through the newest book in the pile. "Dr. Lee has quite an extensive research collection. Not as good as Hogwart's, mind you, but good none the less." She handed the book to Harry, who just put it on top of the other four she had searched out and given him within the past hour.

"Can we take a break yet?" came Ron's voice from behind an overly large pile of books that towered over his head. "We've been at this for ever!"

"We've been working for barely an hour, Ron." she answered.

"We've got all summer to finish this stuff, Hermione." the red head said, pushing some of the books out of his way so he could see the young woman in question. "It's nice outside today. So why are we staying cooped up in this bloody house? Homework can wait!"

"Stop procrastinating and just finish the essay." Ginny said with a frown, not even looking up from her own parchment as she scribbled the essay for Snape on a Vanishing potion. Ron just grumbled incoherently and returned to his homework, muttering something about obsessive-compulsive gits while Hermione abdicated her chair once again to search for something to help her finish her own Potions essay.

Harry, who heartily agreed with Ron about being cooped up inside on such a nice day, never the less went back to reading and trying to formulate a reasonable paragraph on the use of Concealment charms.

They had not received their O.W.L scores yet, but Harry knew they were scheduled to arrive within the next few weeks. He was actually quite anxious to find out how he did, considering Snape had not proctored the Potions practical, and he had fallen asleep during the History of Magic test.

A half hour passed without a word being spoken, and the only sounds were that of quills scratching out answers on parchment, or the thud of Hermione dropping another book into a pile somewhere along the rows of tomes. Harry was seriously beginning to wonder if Hermione had gotten herself lost in the shelves of books somewhere.

"Hey," Hermione called out a few moments later. "come look at this." She walked over to the table she and Harry had been sharing and flipped open what looked like a bound journal. Harry could see her face creased in confusion as she flipped through the pages, trying to decipher the meaning of the words on the parchment in front of her.

"What is it now, Hermione?" Ron asked crossly, coming over to look. "First you tell us to get to work. And now you're interrupting us. Make up your mind, woman!"

"What is it, Hermione." Ginny asked over her brother's ranting. "What did you find?"

"It's Dr. Lee's journals." Hermione said, her brow furrowing. "I found it at the end of one of the shelves. But look at what she's written."

Harry glanced, noticing the diagrams and pictures that graced the pages, but not really comprehending what the text was telling him. It all seemed like a bunch of babblish to him, just groupings of random letters that made absolutely no sense. Apparently Ron had the same idea because he shook his head and looked down at Hermione with a frown.

"What exactly is this supposed to be, Hermione?" he asked.

"It's the outline of a potion that is supposed to shield from the _Unforgivables_." Hermione said, her voice full of awe. "But more specifically, the _Avada Kedavra_ curse."

"And you know this…how?" Ron asked skeptically. "It's nothing but gibberish and nonsense!"

"Honestly, Ron." Ginny said, pushing her brother back so she could get a closer look. "You don't see things unless they jump out and bite you on your arse, do you? The text is backwards."

Ron made a noise that Harry vaguely took as understanding before redirecting his attention to the journal. Sure enough, the lines were backwards, just like Hermione had said.

"Why would she write it backwards, and upside down, at that?" Ron asked, scratching his head. "Doesn't make much sense to me."

"I don't know." Hermione said. "But this outline is quite thorough. It details all of her attempts at creating this potion, and the results of each experiment. It's fascinating that such a thing even exists. I've never heard of it before."

"This is the one that Ms. Meadows told us about." Harry said. "She called it the _Draught of Lazarus_, or something like that."

"But a potion to stop the _Avada _curse?" Hermione asked, shaking her head. "Potions usually aren't used to counteract a spell or curse, a countercurse is. Potions are usually used only as a preemptive form of…"

"What are your four up to?" came someone's voice from behind them. They turned and found Ailric Robbins leaning against the door casing, a grin on his face.

"We're working on homework." Harry said, taking in the blond headed man carefully. Despite the fact that they had all been at Haven's Hallow for going into two weeks now, Harry had seen very little of this man. The little Harry and the others had seen of him, especially the interactions with Ms. Meadows and Mr. Tartavu, reminded them all of Tonks. He was very vivacious and outgoing, just not as clumsy as the Metamorphagous.

"Homework? During the summer?" he asked, seemingly appalled at that thought, though his grin was even wider. "Surely you jest?"

"My thoughts exactly." Ron murmured, only to receive an elbow in the stomach from Ginny, and a glare from Hermione.

"What are you working on?" Mr. Robbins asked, walking over to them and peering down at the book Hermione had brought out. Harry caught the faint flinch and frown before the man covered it up.

"Potions." Hermione and Ginny replied in unison.

"Charms." Harry said.

"Whatever it is Hermione's harping on me about." Ron said, shrugging.

"Well, if I didn't _harp_, Ronald, then you'd get nothing done." Hermione answered, leveling him with a glare that would have made Snape proud. "Honestly, if it wasn't for the last minute, I doubt you'd finish any of your work!"

"Okay, let's derail this argument before you two destroy Dr. Lee's library." Mr. Robbins said, getting between the two teenagers, and picking up the book Hermione had placed on the table, snapping it shut and putting it under his arm.

"We were looking at that." Ginny said, eyeing the book. "And we weren't finished."

"I highly doubt you would find any useful information in Mikayla's old research journals, Ms. Weasley." the man answered. "It's not exactly information Professor Snape is going to assign for summer reading."

"Yes, but…."

"Anyhow, maybe I can get someone to help you out that is better in potion brewing than myself. I can do charms and spells, but potions have never been my strongest subject." he said. "It is more efficient, and you'll have more time to have a little fun on this wonderfully beautiful day. What say you?"

"Sounds good to me." Ron said, grinning. "I've got to do that essay for that vampire next anyhow."

"I guess so." Hermione said, looking a little crestfallen that she would possibly be taken out of the library.

"Wonderful." Mr. Robbins said. "Just a moment." The man walked over to a nearby window, opened it, and stuck his head out. He hollered for Mr. Tartavu, who Harry had seen out back with the menagerie of animals that called Haven's Hallow home. A few minutes later, the man in question walked through the door, wiping his hands off with a rag, and Ms. Meadows right behind him.

"What have you done now, Ailric?" the auburn haired woman asked, frowning slightly.

"Nothing." the man said, his hands in the air defensively in front of him as if to ward off the other woman's evil glare. "I've done nothing. Just wanted to talk to Gabe."

"What is it, Ailric?" he asked grimly. "I'm kinda o' busy for yeh antics atta the moment."

"No antics." the blond man said. "The kids are working on some summer homework, and seem to be stuck on their essays for the Bat."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked. "Who are you referring to?"

"Professor Snape." Ms. Meadows said. "It seems that he did not make a very good impression on Ailric, and he's nicknamed him the Bat."

"Well, he looks like one, doesn't he?" Ailric asked, turning to Gabe. "Admit it."

"Acts like one if you stay around him long enough." Ginny muttered, causing Ailric to grin even more. "Life sucking, biased git!"

"At any rate," Mr. Tartavu said. "I'll help yeh, lads. What're yeh lookin' for?"

"Vanishing potions." Ginny said sullenly.

"O.W.L level revision?" Ms. Meadows asked. Ginny only nodded.

"Well, let me see wha' I can do here now." Mr. Tartavu said, going over to the place where Ginny was working. Hermione gathered up her parchment and went to sit next to the red headed girl, quickly asking Mr. Tartavu questions about her own essay.

"What are you two working on?" Ms. Meadows asked, turning back to the two boys.

"Charms." Harry said. "Flitwick set us a three and a half foot parchment on Concealment charms and their uses."

"Herbology." Ron shuddered. "At least, I think that's what Hermione threw at me earlier."

"Well, let's see if that is what it is, shall we?" Ms. Meadows asked, gesturing for Ron to lead the way. "Ailric, give Mr. Potter a hand if he needs it. You're the best at Charms out of the three of us anyhow. And none of your ridiculously concocted hexes, either!"

"Yes ma'am." Mr. Robbins said, saluting the woman, although Harry sincerely believed the man didn't mean it. He turned to Harry and grinned.

"So, Potter," he said, an evil grin on his face that was infectious. "You ever heard of the _Bructricia_ hex?"

"No."

"Got anybody that you just can't stand at this school of yours?" he asked. Harry immediately thought of Draco Malfoy and his goons Crabbe and Goyle.

"Yeah."

"Well then," Mr. Robbins said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Let's get this essay about ruddy Concealment charms out of the way. And I'll teach you a few nice little hexes that'll have your favorite enemy running to his dear mummy in fright!"

Later on that evening, long after dinner was over with, Harry descended the steps from the second floor and down Dr. Lee's office. He knocked on the door, then let himself in when he heard the woman's voice.

"Ah, Mr. Potter." she said, turning to face him. "Glad to see you made it. I was beginning to wonder if you would show."

"Yeah, well, I figured it couldn't hurt." Harry said. Despite the fact that she seemed trustworthy, and even Remus had vouched for her, Harry still remained a little more distanced from her than he should have.

"Well, not exactly the reasoning I was hoping for, but it will do." she said, nodding. "Please, have a seat. Now, there are a few things I need to explain to you, since you have consented to these lessons."

"Like what?"

"As you well know, Occulemency is a very personal art. From the little I've gathered from Snape and Dumbledore, your altercation revolved around you poking around in Snape's Pensieve, correct?"

"Yes."

"And then that, coupled with his long running assessment that you are a hopeless basket case, despite what anyone else tries to teach you……" Dr. Lee cut off and shook her head sadly. "Well, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did with Snape. And for that, I commend you greatly, Mr. Potter."

"What?"

"I'm afraid that my tolerance of Severus Snape has greatly diminished over the years. At one point, we put up with each other quite well due to our common interest in the subject of Potions. Unfortunately, it did not last. After an altercation…..well, suffice to say I've avoided him as much as I could ever since I was eighteen years old."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Harry asked. "I already know Snape is a git that hates my guts."

"I know when he tried to teach you before, he bombarded your mind repeatedly without really giving you specific instructions on how to defend yourself." she explained. "Why he done this, I am not sure. Although I suspect it's because he wanted to humiliate you as much as possible before you finally muddled through and figured it out on your own. Or you got angry enough and forced him out."

"I done it once." Harry said quietly. "I saw his memories from when he was younger."

"So I've heard." she said. "And I doubt they were memories of sunshine and daisies." Harry shook his head, remembering the graying memories he had picked up from his professor. "However, there is a better of posting your mental defenses than the way he showed you. It makes the strong, more durable."

"Why didn't he teach me that way then?" Harry asked, confused. "Seems to make more sense to me."

"Because it takes longer." she replied. "But the length of time is offset by the stability of your defenses. It is more effort on the teacher's part, and patience is a necessity."

"Which is what Snape doesn't have anytime I am concerned."

"Yes, well, the animosity he has for you is a carry over from your father." she said. "I'd figured he'd have grown out of it by now, but it apparently hasn't. Then again, Snape's tolerance of your mother also plays a large part in why he continues to help both you and Dumbledore."

"My mum? What's she got to do with why Snape hates me?" Harry asked.

"More than you may realize, but not as much as you may think." she said. "Lily was a kind hearted individual who accepted people for what they were. She got along with most everyone, despite the prejudices she was faced with during our school time. She hated when bullies pushed on the younger students, and wound up with many a hex mark on her face for jumping between a Slytherin and some younger student."

"When she first came to Hogwarts, she actually managed to befriend Snape, despite the rivalry of the Houses. They were friends for a number of years. And James knew they were on good terms with each other, so he started making Snape the target of he Marauder's pranks. I think James was trying to scare him away from Lily. Unfortunately, the only thing it did was make your mother angry. Of course, when Sirius was added into the equation, things really got explosive."

"Finally, there was a huge fight between Snape and the Marauders at the beginning of their fifth year. Snape and Lily's friendship was exposed to the whole school, courtesy of Regulus Black and Bellatrix Black. And instead of standing beside your mother, Snape denounced her in front of the whole school, calling her a Mudblood, and denying that he'd even spoken more than a dozen words to her. Of course, Lily was hurt, and that spurred James into action. One big fight ensued, and James and Snape wound up dueling near the lake one night, with Regulus and Sirius as their seconds."

"When Lily found out, through Remus no less, she went down there to try and stop them. She jumped in between the two of them, which was one of her not so smart moments. Anyhow, Snape wouldn't hex her, but Regulus did. That hex landed her in the hospital wing for two weeks. But of course, Regulus wound up in there too, courtesy of James fists. That was twice, but Lily wouldn't give up on Snape. But after the O.W.L.'s that year, when she made James let Snape down when your father turned him upside down by the lake, and Snape called her a Mudblood, she lost it."

"Ever since then, she had washed her hands with Snape, despite the fact that she thought he wasn't all that bad, at least not to her. Unfortunately, Severus didn't have the option of turning his back on his housemates, and Lily knew that. But when he refused to even speak to her, she was forced to let their friendship die."

"And then my dad stepped in." Harry said.

"Yes." Dr. Lee answered. "Once James deflated his ego a little, Lily was more than willing to give him a chance. He made her happy, more so than any other guy had."

"But, she hated him so much…"

"Harry, I won't deny that your father was big-headed, and even a bit egotistical; nor will I deny the fact that your mother was a quick tempered, nosey prat at times. They both were." Dr. Lee chuckled. "But they worked well together in the end. They grew to love each other, and your proof of that."

Harry was not sure as to what to say to that. It was kind of shocking, hearing the back story about his parents and Snape. He remembered Remus telling him that his mother was a kind individual, but he had never said she had befriended Snape while they were at school.

Things were slowly starting to fall into place now. And Harry was glad too. He'd felt so mad when he'd seen Snape's memory in the Pensieve of his father hexing him just for the fun of it. It had taken his father of the imaginary pedestal Harry had placed him on, making him realize that James Potter had been far from the perfected being he had been so proud of.

But now, knowing a little more of the back story, Harry didn't feel so bad knowing that Snape had been asking for it by turning his back on Harry's mother.

"But how…" Harry began, still somewhat confused. This woman knew all about his mom and dad, but he didn't remember seeing her in his picture album of his parent's, or the original Order picture Moody had showed him. "Why weren't you in the original Order? How do you know them so well, yet I've never seen a picture of you? Not even Remus and Sirius have ever mentioned you before."

"I wasn't in the original Order for a number of reasons, mostly because the path between what is easy and safe, is not necessarily the one that is right."" she said sadly. "Sixteen years ago, I took the easy way out, but running because I was scared. Now, however, I am doing what is right, if only to protect the reasons I ran in the first place."

"So…"

"To put it simply, Mr. Potter, I did the right thing, but for all the wrong reasons. Now, I'm back to try and fix it. But that's enough for tonight." Dr. Lee said, smiling at him. "Rehashing old memories is not a favorite past time of mine. But you did need to understand more so than what you already did. There are a few other things I wanted to ask you about, concerning the club you set up last year for Defense class."

"The DA?" Harry asked.

"Yes." she said. "Now, what exactly have you taught the students? And how far along are you with these charms?" She slid a piece of parchment in front of him that showed a list of some familiar and not so familiar spells. Harry frowned and told her what they had went over, and who the members were, as well as the story of Marietta Edgecomb and her betrayal to Umbridge.

"Do you plan on letting us continue?" Harry asked.

"Well, I don't see why not." she answered. "No harm in it, as long as Dumbledore agrees. And I'll make sure you don't have to mead in the Hogs Head for meetings either, if he agrees."

By the time Harry got out of Dr. Lee's office an hour and a half later, all he wanted to do was go get some sleep. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, because he saw Ginny at the top of the stairs, a displeased look on her face when there was an audible thump of something hitting the floor coming from the room he shared with Ron.

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Hermione hag a letter from Krum, and Ron found it." she said, rolling her eyes. "He read it, and she caught him, and now they're fighting."

"Over what now?"

"Apparently Krum wants to come see her on the first Hogsmeade weekend we have." Ginny said. "She told him to come on, if he had the time, and Ron's jealous."

"This is getting ridiculous." Harry muttered, moving towards the room. He opened the door, and the shrill yells of one Hermione Granger flowed into the hallway, causing him to wince.

"…just coming for a visit, Ronald! It's no reason to get upset!"

"WHY IS HE STILL HANGING AROUND! HE'S OUT OF SCHOOL! SO WHY'S HE STILL WRITING TO YOU!"

"He's a pen pal!" Hermione defended herself. "Ginny! Tell him!"

"PENPALS DON'T COME HALFWAY ACOSS THE CONTENENT TO VISIT ON A REGULAR BASIS!"

"And my best friend isn't supposed to accuse me of being some kind of harlot just because he doesn't like said pen pal!" Hermione snarled, brandishing the letters in her hand at Ron. "And then you have the nerve to read MY private letters! How could you!"

"HE'S THREE YEARS OLDER THAN YOU! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT KIND OF RUMORS YOU COULD START BEIND SEEN TOGETHR AGAIN? THE WHOLE BLOODY WORLD WILL THIN YOUR'E DATING THE GIT AGAIN!"

"And there is a problem with that?" Hermione snapped, glaring at him.

"HE'S TOO BLOODY OLD!" Ron yelled. "Harry, back me up here, will you, mate?"

"SO I'M SUPPOSED TO DATE IMMATURE GITS LIKEYOU, RONALD! GUYS WHO BLOW THEIR TOPS AT EVER LITTLE THING?" That seemed to knock some wind out of Ron's sails, but Hermione was on a roll, her anger at it's limit now, and breaking like furious storm waves on the beach.

"I didn't…."

"THANKS, BUT I'D RATHER HAVE RITA SKEETER BUZZING AROUND AGAIN, MAKING UP STUPID LIES AND QUESTIONING MY REPUTATION THAT DATE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T EVEN TRUST ME!"

Hermione stormed past Harry and Ginny, and out the door. The three remaining teenagers flinched collectively when they heard a door slam shut. Beside him, Ginny groaned and shook her head.

"Ron, you are perhaps the most thick-headed git alive." she seethed. "Calm down, before you blow your head off your shoulders. I've got to go do damage control now, thanks to you, you bloody bugger!"

"Stay out of this, Ginny." Ron barked.

"And let you ruin your friendship with Hermione because you're acting like this?" Ginny snapped back, glaring at him. "Fat chance, my dear big headed brother." She walked over to a small shelf and picked up a few folded parchments. "I think I'll just take these with me before you decide to rip them to pieces. Bye, Harry." Ron just glared and folded his arms across his chest as he walked out the room. When Harry was sure that Ginny was now safely within the room, trying to comfort a distraught Hermione, he turned to his still fuming best friend.

"Ron?" Harry asked, watching as the red head's face slowly began to return to it's normal color. "Ron?"

"Not now, Harry." he said angrily, picking up his broomstick and heading towards the door. "Just….not now…." Harry watched, concerned, as Ron stomped down the stairs and out towards the back part of the property, where they had been flying earlier that day after finishing a large part of their summer homework.

The arguments between Ron and Hermione had been escalating for some days now. It was almost like they couldn't been in the same room with each other without picking a fight. If it wasn't Ron questioning her about Krum, or teasing her about S.P.E.W, then it was Hermione nagging him about homework, and how he never understood anything.

Ginny swore that it was just frustrated tension because Ron wanted to get Hermione's attention on him, and not Krum. Well, Ron was getting his wish. He was getting her attention, but it was driving the rest of them crazy. It had even got to the point where Ginny told Ron just to go kiss Hermione to shut her up. Needless to say, that had not went over really well with Ron, who only turned beet red and began stammering. Harry had gotten so aggravated then, that he was tempted to tell Hermione to come snog Ron, just to get him to quit stammering. But he refrained from doing so.

Harry just wished they'd fix whatever it was between them, and soon. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

The basement of Haven's Hallow was a Potion researchers dream come true. When Sable had moved into the house after the Tartavu's had passed on, she had brought all of her research material to the house, and stored it until she could get back to work on it. There were cauldrons of every size and shape all around the large set of rooms, gold, silver, pewter, iron, steel, glass. There was a large set of shelves across the room where she kept her ingredients, and another, smaller cabinet that held her most precious ingredients, phoenix tears, nundu fur, dragon's blood, and the like. That cabinet was warded, locked, and secured with every spell she knew, since the contents were so valuable.

She added another few drops of ivory oil to the cauldron in front of her, waiting for it to change to the acidic green color she was hoping for. The potion she was working on was only in it's experimental stages, and highly volatile. She'd been working on it for a number of months, hoping to find a working order. Unfortunately, trying to find a potion that could minimize the effects of the _Avada _curse was more than likely impossible to do with out slipping into the forbidden area of Dark Arts, but she was willing to try.

She had come down here to clear her mind right after her meeting with Harry, only to find Gabemincing up scorpion stingers to add to one of the many bubbling cauldrons along the tabletops. Her youngest had said nothing as she entered into the room and quickly got to work. Of all the children, Gabe always seemed to understand her moods the best of all, and he knew whent to stay out from underfoot and just let her focus on a potion. He recognized it as a theraputic way for her to clear her mind, or so she thought. Whatever it was though, she was grateful for his understanding.

She stirred the cauldron before her again, then careened her head towards the door when two sets of footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and towards them.

"It's Ailric and Sabine." Gabe said calmly, wiping his knife blade with a nearby rag.

"What are they coming down here for?" Sable asked, more to herself than to her son.

"No clue." the young man asked.

"Hey, mom, Gabe." Ailric said, walking into the room, Sabine not too far behind him. "What you two making now?"

"Nothing." Gabe said, shrugging.

"What brings you two down here?" Sable asked, returning to her notebook to note the color change of the solution in the cauldron.

"Had to get away from the yelling." Sabine said wearily.

"Yelling?"

"Hermione and Ron are screaming at each other again." Ailric said.

"About what now?" Gabe asked, remembering how the bushy haired girl had given his overly sensitive ears a reason to wring for hours after their last shouting match the day before.

"Apparently it's about some letter she got earlier." Sabine said, checking the jars of ingredients on the storage shelves. She usually kept her mom's plant ingredients full to the brim with the plants she grew. "I'll bet it was from Krum again."

"More than likely. Tonks told me that Hermione kept in touch with the guy after their fourth year." Sable said absently. "Apparently the youngest Weasley son is quite jealous of the Bulgarian."

"That's almost comical." Gabe said absently, stirring the scorpion stingers into a milky white concoction. "He's already got her, if he'd just open his eyes."

"True, how very true." Ailric said dramatically. "But, then again, a fool in love is a fool indeed."

"So is that the excuse you're always using to get by?" Sabine shot to him, a grin on her face.

"Not funny, you old hag." Ailric bit out, glaring at his sister. "Although I am concerned about how long we can pull this ruse over their heads."

"I am as well, son." Sable said. "Hermione's quick on the uptake. And Harry's no dense teenager."

"Can we pull this off without them figuring it out?" Sabine asked her mother, somewhat concerned herself. "If they find out who we are, we are all in trouble. Especially if Voldemort tries picking through their dreams again to find information."

"We can do this." Sable said. "I need to talk to Remus when he gets back, though. He can clear up a few gray areas with Harry concerning his parents, since the boy doesn't seem to trust me all that well."

"Do you really blame him?" Gabe asked.

"No. I don't." Sable said. "I wouldn't trust me either if I was in his position."

"Well, that's reassuring." Ailric asked, the sarcasm thick in his voice.

"I know it's rough. But we can do this, kids." Sable said.

"Speaking of Remus, have you heard anything from him since he left for Stratford, mom?" Sabine asked.

"Not yet." she said, shaking her head. "I'm kind of worried. We should have heard something by now." Her three children only shrugged and looked up to the clock as it chimed eleven times.

"Well, I'm off to bed." Ailric said, stretching and yawning. "See you good people in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm going to go see if Weasley's broken his neck yet." Sabine said. "Then I'm hitting the sack."

"I'm going too." Gabe said. "I'm all finished here. And this potion has to sit until tomorrow anyway. Goodnight, mom."

"Night, kids." Sable said. "Sweet dreams." They just nodded and left out the lab, leaving Sable to finish up her work and retire to her own bed.

The only problem seemed to be that her mind was whirling a mile a minute. Her concerns for Remus were foremost. He'd been gone for nearly a week, and no word from him about anything. Not only that, but her meeting with Harry earlier that day had really shown her how little the boy knew of his own family history, which was disturbing.

And she couldn't tell him half of it because she needed Remus there to back her story up, or the boy wouldn't believe her. She just sighed and wiped her hands off, casting a spell to put the potion she was working on in a stasis until she was ready to work on it again.

Sable gathered up her cloak and walked out the basement, toward the steps, taking note that the next full moon was in a couple of days. She just groaned and made her way to bed, hoping things would be better after a few hours sleep.

A/N - Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed that little chapter. And I am really sorry for taking so long to get this one out. Things are majorly hectic in my life now, so bare with me please.

Until next time.

Avonnalay

Oh, and remember to review, I want to know what you all think.

Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer** - It's not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are Sable and her family, along with any characters you have never seen/heard of from the movie and/or books.

**A/N -** Thanks to the following for taking the time to review this story. I appreciate knowing what you think as this story unfolds before our eyes.

**Forever-A-Wanderer** - Thanks for taking a chance on the sequel, and I am happy to hear that you like it so far. Thank you for the review, and I hope I don't disappoint you.

**Princess-Danae -** _Alright hon, you're in here. Not much for this chapter, but you get to come out and play more in the next chapter. Love ya, muches. ;) _

**Wolvesaremylife1 -** I'm glad I didn't throw people for a loop with that explanation. And I hope you like this chapter. Thanks again for the review

**Sarah -** Ahhh, you picked up on that little reference, did you? I think you were the only one that did. And there is going to be more little interludes with Ron and Hermione. They are good for comic relief, aren't they?

**Camilinha -** _Okay, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it, as our werewolf takes center stage once again. (Although I do have a distinct feeling that you are going to want to flame me good by the end of the chapter…..) Anyhow, I'll catch up with you on the messenger soon. P.S. How'd the job interview go?_

* * *

Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts 

Chapter 9

Lessons and Answers

* * *

Sable stepped out into the bright sunlight streaming down into Diagon Alley, pushing her shrunken package of potion ingredients into her pockets. She'd been forced into going to Diagon Alley for some house supplies, and had brought Gabe and Sabine with her. Since she personally hated grocery shopping, she had given that particular task to her daughter, who had a bit more tolerance for it than she did. Now, she was on her way to Flourish and Blotts to meet up with her son, who was supposed to be looking over any respectable books she might be able to use in her class for the term.

"Excuse me, Ms. Lee?" came a man's voice behind her. Sable turned around, searching the bustling crowd for who had called her name, only to find a burly man with slightly grayed hair, and distinctly trollish features standing behind her. She quickly spied the crest on the man's robes and had to tamp down her reaction to run. She knew this man, all to well.

This was Justus Flint, the younger brother of Cody Flint, the boy that had helped to keep her and Remus captured at the old Zabini mansion sixteen years before.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked smoothly, giving him a smile that she honestly hoped seemed natural, and not as phony as she felt at the moment.

"Are you Dr. Mikayla Lee?" he asked a woman with blonde hair came up to his side. She was dressed in what was obviously expensive robes, and had the aristocratic good looks that proclaimed she was one of the Black Family.

"Yes, I am." she said, nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"We are sorry to interrupt," the lady said warmly, although her eyes were shooting daggers through Sable's head. "but I was wondering if you are the one who will be taking the teaching position at Hogwarts this term."

"You are correct. I am." Sable answered. "And you are?"

"Narcissa Malfoy." she said haughtily, tossing her blonde hair back over her shoulder. "And this gentleman is Justus Flint."

"Pleasure." Sable said, nodding in the man's direction. "Is there something you needed, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself to Draco's new professor." she said primly. "I was most aggrieved to find that his last Defense instructor was released from the position. Draco had nothing but good things to say about Professor Umbridge."

"Draco is your son, I take it?" Sable asked, recognizing the name as the boy who lived to torment Harry and his friends. She tried to find a way to buy some time to think of a way to get away from the cursed woman in front of her, and figured that getting her to talk about her son would buy her some time. "What year is he in?"

"He begins his sixth year this term." Mrs. Malfoy said. "He's such a bright young man."

"Well, I look forward to having him in my class." Sable said smoothly. "Unfortunately, I am afraid I must cut our meeting short, Mrs. Malfoy. I am in a bit of a rush, you see."

"Mikayla?" came another voice over the din of the crowd. Sable spun around, only to find the familiar face of her age-enhanced son coming to her side. "What are you up to, lass? You were supposed to meet me at Flourish and Blott's half an hour ago. You are late, love." Sable saw the funny look cross Mrs. Malfoy's face when Gabe walked over and put an arm around her, but she pretended to ignore it.

"I am sorry, Gabe. But I ran into Mrs. Malfoy." Sable covered easily, feeling better now that she had someone in her corner. "Her son Draco will be one of my sixth year students this term. And this gentleman is Mr. Justus Flint."

"Pleasure to meet you." Gabe said, nodding in their direction. "I'm Gabe Tartavu."

"Are you a relative of Kareema Tartavu?" Mrs. Malfoy asked, looking at Gabe suspiciously.

"She's me adopted grandmum." Gabe said proudly. Mr. Flint and Mrs. Malfoy seemed to take Gabe at his word, and turned their attention back to Sable.

"Well, any relative of Kareema's is a friend of mine." the blonde stated. "Would you care to join us for lunch, Ms. Lee, Mr. Tartavu? I was hoping to introduce you to my son Draco."

"Yes, I was hoping to discuss some things with you as well, Dr. Lee." Justus Flint said. "You are the creator of the Wolf's Bane potion, and I have some questions about how you came up with the idea to create such an elixir."

"Yes, well…I was not the only researcher working on that particular project." Sable said quickly.

"Such modesty!" Narcissa Malfoy said, smiling coldly. Unfortunately, she spied her son in the crowd and waved him over, just when Sable thought she was going to be able to get free. "Draco, come here." she called out. Sable saw a young man with blonde hair weave his way through the crowd, and to Narcissa's side. With him was another boy about the same age with black hair, blue eyes, and a dark complexion. "Draco, Blaise, this is Professor Lee, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor for this term. And this is her friend Gabe Tartavu."

"How do you do?" Draco asked, shaking Sable's hand and nodding politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Lee." The dark haired boy stepped forward and shook her hand as well, although Sable seemed to sense that he was not as reluctant to do so as Malfoy had been.

"Mr. Tartavu." Draco said, nodding politely. "It's a pleasure, sir." Gabe just nodded, but remained silent, leaving the pleasantries to his mother.

"Well, it's nice to meet two more of my students ahead of time." she said.

"It's always a pleasure, meeting Mikayla's newest students. But I ask you to please excuse me, ladies, gentlemen," Gabe said, looking pointedly to a spot over Mrs. Malfoy's shoulder. "I believe I see someone who is not supposed to be here." Sable, who was about to make him stay by her side, looked across the street to where Gabe was walking, only to see her sixteen year old daughter standing there, biting her lip and motioning for Gabe to get to her side quickly.

"Oh, this is not good." Sable muttered to herself as she turned her attention back to the group of people in front of her. "Not good at all!"

* * *

"Gabe! We've got a problem!" Sabine said as she pulled her brother out of the crowd. 

"What happened, Sabine!" he asked, looking her over as if to try and find why she looked like her normal self as opposed to the thirty year old auburn woman she walked out of Haven's Hallow as that morning. "Now's not the time to go gallivanting around Diagon Alley looking like yourself! Mom's been cornered by the Malfoys, and she needs some help!"

"The potion wore off, you dick head!" Sabine hissed. "I was coming to find mom to see if she had anymore on her!" Gabe was about to say saying anything else, but the arrival of his mother and the Malfoys circumvented his tirade to his sister.

"Is there something wrong?" Sable asked, smiling gently at her daughter.

"Not really, ma'am." Sabine answered, nodding slightly as if it was no big deal.

"The potion wore off a bit earlier than expected." Gabe said evasively, catching the curious looks from the pit vipers gathered around them.

"Is everything else okay?" Sable asked, eyeing her son for some sort of answer.

"Everything is fine. But I think we should get Corbin home, don't you, Dr. Lee?" Gabe asked, using Sabine's middle name as opposed to her real name.

"Yes, undoubtedly." Sable answered. "Have you finished your shopping, Corbin?"

"I finished everything except for the pet food." Sabine answered.

"Gabe, why don't you take her home. This is her first time in Diagon Alley after all, and your grandmother would curse me if anything happened to her. I'll get the owl seed before I leave."

"Draco and Blaise can take her to the Apparition point near Eeylops Emporium if you'd like." Narcissa Malfoy volunteered.

"That's alright." Gabe said quickly. "I'll take my sister home, and I'll come back afterwards."

"Nonsense!" Narcissa waved. "Draco. Blaise. Take Ms. Tartavu to Eeylops and make sure she gets what she needs. Then escort her to the Apparition point that's nearby."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to infringe upon your time." Sabine said quickly, apparently not wanting to be stuck with the two Slytherin boys on her own.

"It's not a problem." Blaise said cordially, smiling at Sabine, who was partially hidden behind Gabe. "We don't mind at all. Do we, Draco?"

"Not at all." the blonde boy answered, although he didn't seem very thrilled at the idea.

"Mikayla?" Gabe asked uncertainly, not sure about letting Sabine go with the two boys. Sable bit her lip and nodded curtly. She couldn't afford to seem suspicious to the two other adults standing in front of her, especially when rumor had it that they were both marked Death Eaters. As long as they continued to think that Gabe and Sabine were the grandchildren of Kareema Tartavu, who was in reality Sable's own godmother, then they would be fine. Narcissa Malfoy nor Justus Flint would risk starting a blood feud with the Tartavu family, and Sable knew it.

"Let her go, Gabe. She'll be fine." Dr. Lee said. Gabe looked almost shocked, but stepped out from in front of his sister, albeit reluctantly. "We've got some shopping to finish ourselves before we can head back home."

"We'll see her off." Blaise said, offering his arm to the girl in front of him. Sabine smiled sweetly and took it, then fired up a conversation about only Merlin knew what. But whatever it was, both the Malfoy brat and the Zabini boy seemed interested.

"Well, we've taken up a great deal of your time, Dr. Lee." Narcissa said. "It was a pleasure to meet you. You as well, Mr. Tartavu. And do give Kareema my regards, will you?"

"I will, ma'am." Gabe said. "Good day to you both." With that final goodbye, the Malfoy matriarch and the burly man turned and walked back down the sidewalk towards Darvish and Bangs. As soon as they were out of sight, Sable pulled Gabe into an alleyway, heaving a huge sigh of relief that they were gone.

"Mom?" Gabe asked, looking at her carefully. "You okay?"

"Go find your sister and make sure those two boys don't hurt her before she gets to the Apparition point." Sable said firmly. "Narcissa Malfoy isn't stupid enough to start a blood feud between her family and your godparent's families, but that doesn't mean her son isn't."

"Do you want me to pull her away from them?" he asked.

"No. As long as they don't try to do anything, she'll be fine." Sable said. "Just make sure they don't get any ideas. I've got one more place to go before I can head home, so I'll meet you both there. Once you get back to Haven's Hallow, get Sabine to my lab, preferably without anyone seeing her, and tell her I said don't move until I get back and find out what made the potion wear off." Gabe nodded and quickly headed off down the alley to where Eeylops Emporium was, searching the sea of faces for his sister.

Meanwhile, Sable slouched back against the brick of the building behind her. Running into Justus Flint and Narcissa Malfoy had not been on her to do list, and it had shaken her up pretty badly. It had only gotten worse when she had seen Sabine standing on the other side of the street. She had no doubt that both Flint and Malfoy had noticed the physical similarities between the two of them, and would be doing a check with Kareema, inquiring about her grandchildren. She'd just send her godmother a letter as soon as she got back to Haven's Hallow, warning her of what had happened, and to be on the lookout for anyone asking about Gabe or Sabine.

Kareema Tartavu and her husband Niles Tartavu were the head of one of the most influential and well known wizarding families of the southern United States. They were well known all around the globe for their work with breeding rare and exotic species of animals of both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, and were right up there in the same social circles as the Malfoys and Flints. They were also known to adopt orphaned children and raise them as their own since they could not have any children of their own.

They had been named Sable's godparents before her own parents had died, but she hadn't found out about it until after her mother and father had been killed. Thankfully, with the Tartavu name being thrown around, she knew that Gabe and Sabine would be safe from problems with the Malfoys, or any other aristocratic jerks that lived on the continent.

"This has officially got to be the worst day of my life." Sable muttered, rearranging her cloak and heading back into the crowd of bustling people to finish up her shopping. "Only my luck is this bad!"

* * *

"So, where are you headed, Ms. Tartavu?" Blaise asked as they walked down the street. Sabine, who wasn't sure as to what she should and shouldn't say in front of the two boys, tried to play it natural. 

"Please, just call me Corbin." she said with a smile. "And I'm a bit lost. I need to get some supplies for a number of family pets, but I got turned around somehow, and I don't know where I'm headed."

"Is it your first time in Diagon Alley?" Draco asked pleasantly.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Malfoy." she said.

"The Emporium will have what you need." Blaise said, nodding to a large sign that read 'Eeylops Owl Emporium'. "They sell practically anything you may need, and the Apparition point is right beside the building." The three teenagers arrived at the building, and Draco opened the door to admit her through, then followed Blaise in.

"I apologize for taking up your time, Mr. Malfoy, Mr…."

"Zabini." Blaise said, grinning. "Blaise Zabini."

"Zabini?" Sabine asked, not quite sure she had heard correctly.

"Is there a problem with my name?" Blaise asked.

"No, no, not at all!" Sabine said, truly smiling for the first time. "Is your family the ones who run Camilla's vineyards, right outside of Venice?"

"You've heard of us?" Blaise asked, seemingly surprised.

"Please, Mr. Zabini, name one respectable wizarding family in the world that has not, and I'll hand you a thousand galleons!" she said with a grin as they walked along the shelves to the owl treats. "You're mother is Isabella Zabini, correct?"

"Yes." Blaise said. "How do you know all this?"

"I'm terribly sorry." she apologized. "But I am a bit of a Herbology fiend. Your mother's work with the species of hybrid grape vines she created by cross pollinating the red and white vines was the topic of a recent lecture I attended."

"Oh, you mean those horrible pink grapes she's so fond of?" Blaise groaned.

"Pink is hardly my favorite color either, Mr. Zabini." she laughed. "But her research is wonderful, and many of the hybrids she ahs bred have amazing properties. Except for that weeping rose bush. What was the point in that one?"

"You mean other than to sting the bloody hell out of you when you walk by it?" Draco huffed, apparently having been on the receiving end of said plant one two many times.

"She created that particular plant as a way to replenish the nutrients in the soil where we grow the grapes." Blaise said easily. "As we rotate the grape crops, we plant mother's weeping roses in the land we are not putting the grapes. When the roses weep, their tears help put vital nutrients back into the soil."

"They cry minerals?" Sabine asked, utterly amazed.

"And shook their thorns at you if you get too close to them." Blaise said. "As Draco can well attest to."

"Well, other than that minor drawback, they really are an amazing species. Does she plan on putting the seeds to market anytime soon?"

"I'm not sure. She's quite protective of that breed." Blaise said, a grin on his face. Sabine just smiled an continued to bombard the dark headed boy with question after question as she bought the food for the family pets. Draco decided to run commentary, and interjected with a few novel stories of the creatures Blaise's mother had managed to create by the cross breeding. Sabine was in stitches by the time she had finished her shopping and they were headed out of Eeylops. They quickly crossed the street, and Sabine caught a glimpse of Gabe standing nearby, watching her with the two boys. She nodded slightly, telling him that she was okay, but he just frowned and continued to watch as she got in line for the Apparition point. Since there was no one behind her, Sabine took her time.

"Will we be seeing you again soon?" Blaise asked as she secured her packages in her pockets.

"Well, since Gabe is the only real family I have left, I tend to drop in and check on him periodically. See how much trouble he can get himself into without me there to watch out for him. So, I might pop up at Hogwarts at some point in time this year since he's supposed to be assisting your Care of Magical Creatures professor."

"They're finally getting rid of that oaf Hagrid?" Draco asked. Sabine tamped down a very smart response, and shrugged.

"I don't think so." she said. "But I could be wrong. Gabe has to finish up his internship before he can get his final certification as a Handler. And the Headmaster of Hogwarts allowed him to take his training under the current professor."

"Well, we'll be looking forward to seeing you again." Blaise said, taking her hand and kissing it gently, causing Sabine to blush scarlet.

"I'm sure you will." she said, regaining her composure slightly and smiling at them, then Apparating out of sight, leaving a grinning Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy standing there by themselves.

When she touched down right outside the barriers near Haven's Hallow, Sabine wanted to kick herself.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into, girl?"

* * *

Luckily, when Sable finally got back into Haven's Hallow, Harry and his friends were outside playing a game of Quidditch. She quickly dumped her packages on the kitchen table and headed for her lab, knowing that her daughter was being confined down there by her two brothers. 

"What happened, Sabine?" she asked, walking into the lab and finding Ailric and Gabe arguing with her about something.

"It wore off." she said, shaking her head. "I don't know why. But I was at the market getting some chicken, and next thing I know, I get this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I see my reflection turning back to normal in one of the store's windows!"

"Did anything feel weird?" Sable asked, going over to her cupboard to pull out a container of some greenish liquid.

"No, it felt normal." she answered sullenly.

"No dizzy spells?"

"No."

"No blurriness?"

"No."

"Nothing felt off or different? Nothing at all?"

"No, it was normal, just quicker than I had expected." Sabine said crossly. "Do you know what's wrong?"

"Yeah, I do." Sable said, taking a seat on a countertop and crossing her arms. "You are definitely your mother's daughter."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ailric asked.

"The age enhancer potion does the same thing to me when I take it." Sable answered. "The timing is off a bit when I take it, so the effect doesn't last as long."

"So I'll just have to take it more often?" Sabine asked.

"Partly. You'll have to take it more often, but you'll also have to have a break every few weeks from it, at least for a few days." Sable answered. "After about six doses, you're going to have to let it get out of your system before you take another dose."

"How long will that take? For her body to get rid of it?" Gabe asked.

"A day or so. No more than three." Sable said.

"So she'll take it for roughly three and a half weeks, and then have to turn normal for a few days?" Ailric asked.

"Exactly." Sable said.

"So can I take another dose now, or do I need to wait?" Sabine asked. Sable did some quick calculations, and decided that it wouldn't hurt her to take some more. She added a few drops of the greenish liquid to a flask of the age enhancer and swirled it around, then poured a glassful and handed it to Sabine.

"Take that, and the next time you fade back to normal, come find me." she said. "That should last you until the coming full moon, and you can '_disappear_' with me for a few days until your system is cleared out." Sabine nodded and downed the smelly concoction, then slowly began to turn from a black headed sixteen year old, back to her alter-self, the thirty year old auburn haired witch.

When the transformation was complete, Sabine sat back down on the chair and shook her head.

"That stuff makes me dizzy." she said, blinking her eyes rapidly.

"Give it a few minutes, and it will pass." her mother said. "What were you three arguing about when I came in here, anyway?" Gabe frowned and pulled a chair around for himself to sit on. He plopped down and folded his arms across the back of the seat.

"It seems that our sister is quite taken with the Zabini twit." he said coldly.

"I am not, you paranoid jerk." Sabine said angrily. "How many more times do I have to tell you that we were just talking about his mother's blasted hybrid plants!"

"You were laughing." Gabe said flatly.

"And smiling." Ailric added, frowning at her.

"And how the hell do you know, Ailric?" Sabine snapped. "You weren't even there!"

"That still doesn't justify the fact that you were flirting with him." Gabe said, pining his sister with a glare that proved he was in fact Severus Snape's son.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she countered. "Act like some nervous little girl who thinks boys have cooties? Yeah, that's believable!"

"You didn't have to let him kiss you!" Gabe said angrily.

"He kissed you?" Ailric asked, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "I'll beat him to a pulp!"

"He kissed my HAND, you twit!" Sabine said. "That doesn't even count!"

"Yes, it does!" Ailric said. "You should have decked the jerk!"

"Mother?" Sabine asked, turning to the woman standing beside her. "Some help here, please?" Sable shook her head and pointed to the door.

"Out, you two." she ordered, nodding at her two sons.

"But…"

"Mom…."

"Now." she said firmly. "No arguments. I'll take care of this." The two boys grumbled, but listened to her and left without another argument. Sable turned to her daughter and took a deep breath.

"Sabine, what happened today, honey?" she asked.

"We left you and Gabe with the Malfoys, I went to the pet store with the two boys, we talked about how Blaise's mom is a Herbology researcher, and then I Apparated home." she said firmly.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"Well, other than the whole kissing my hand part, yeah." Sabine said, blushing slightly.

"Honey, you can't get tangled up with the boys at Hogwarts." Sable said carefully. "Just like Ailric and Gabe can't get tangled up with the girls there. The three of you are going to be seen as teachers, not students."

"I know." Sabine said. "It ought to be Ailric you're telling this to, not me. He's always been the one popular with the ladies."

"You're a smart girl, baby." Sable said, giving her a hug of reassurance. "I know you won't let me down. And I'll take care of your brothers."

"Thanks, mom." Sabine said. "I was about ready to curse Gabe into the next century if he wouldn't have shut up." Sable laughed and shook her head.

"They're just protective, Sabine." she said. "You know that."

"It's annoying." her daughter said flatly, daring her mother to argue with her.

"They do it because they love you." Sable said, trying to hide a smile at her daughter's discomfort.

"I'll remember to tell them that when I run off their next girlfriend." Sabine griped.

"I'll talk to them about it." Sable said. "Although I'm not sure it will do much good." Sabine nodded and stood from her seat.

"Where's the golden trio?" she asked, referring to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Out back playing Quidditch." Sable answered, looking over at the clock on the wall. "It'll be lunch soon, and they'll be in to get some food."

"I'm on kitchen duty today." Sabine answered.

"Better you than Molly." Sable grumped. "I swear that woman hates me! And it's all because of Harry."

"Well, you're not the only one who doesn't think Potter should be coddled." Sabine said, shrugging as she pulled back her auburn hair into a ponytail and secured it out of her face. "So I wouldn't worry too much about it. Seems like she's been staying away from here more lately anyway." Sabine heard her mother mutter something along the lines of '_Thank Merlin for small favors_', and grinned.

"I'm heading for the kitchen. You want some lunch, mom?"

"I'll be up there in a little while." Sable answered. Sabine just nodded and made her way up the stairs towards the first floor of the house while Sable put the bottle of greenish liquid back into the cabinet and straightened up a little in her lab.

She'd go help Sabine with lunch, then head back down to her lab to get some work done. After all, there was an Order meeting in two days, and she needed to have some headway on that voice alteration potion Albus had asked her about.

* * *

Harry had had a bad feeling all evening, especially after seeing the rush that Dr. Lee had been in to get to her laboratory once she'd returned from her trip to Diagon Alley. But, he had threw it off as an acure case of over-needed paranoia. Things had seemed somewhat normal during dinner, and afterwards, although it seemed like Ms. Meadows was on the outs with Mr. Tartavu and Mr. Robbins for some reason that he couldn't place.

They had all went to bed, like normal. Buta little past midnight, the cries from the next room was what had finally brought Harry out of his fitful sleep. He had been dreaming of something, of someplace cold and wet, but the pitiful cries and insistent pounding on the door that linked his and Ron's room to Hermione's and Ginny's room caused him to sit up and throw the door open.

"What's going on, Hermione?" he asked, looking at the pale young woman in front of him.

"It's Ginny." she said frantically. "There's something wrong with her! It's like she's having a nightmare, but I can't wake her up!"

"Geez, what's all the noise for?" came Ron's sleep voice. "Who's dying?" Harry didn't answer him, instead he rushed through the doorway and over to Ginny's side. He could vaguely hear Hermione telling Ron to get up and go get Dr. Lee, but his attention was mainly focused on the sweating red head who had somehow managed to tangle herself up in her bed sheets as she thrashed around violently, fighting an enemy only she could see.

"Ginny!" he called out, ducking when her hand came up to slap at him. "Ginny, wake up! Come on, you're just dreaming! Wake up!"

"Don't do……this again!" Ginny pleaded, struggling to fight her oppressor. "Leave me….alone!"

"Ginny, you're dreaming!" Harry yelled, grabbing her flailing hands. "Wake up!"

"What is going on in here?" Dr. Lee's voice boomed from the doorway. "Mr. Potter?"

"She's dreaming and we can't wake her up." Harry said. "She's talking crazy!" Dr. Lee rushed over, pulling her wand and knelt down to where Ginny was flailing around on the floor.

"What's wrong with my sister?" Ron asked, pushing to Harry's side while Hermione loomed over them. Dr. Lee said nothing, but pointed her wand at Ginny and muttered something, then closed her eyes.

"What's going on in here?" came a sleepy voice from the doorway. Harry turned to see Mr. Tartavu standing there, stretching his arms over his head.

"Something's wrong with Ginny." Hermione said. About that time, Dr. Lee's eyes opened, and Harry swore he could see blatant fear coursing through her.

"Mikayla?" Mr. Tartavu asked.

"Gabe, go wake up Ailric and Sabine and get them in here. Now!" Dr. Lee commanded. The man at the door simply blinked a few times, the rushed to do as he was told. "Harry, Ron, I need you to hold her down."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Just hold her." Dr. Lee snapped. "I can't do this if she's flailing around!":

"No…Remus….let us…..Tom…" Ginny cried, fighting as Harry and Ron grabbed her arms and legs. Harry watched as Dr. Lee pointed her wand at Ginny one more time and chanted a succession of spells that caused the flailing redhead to calm down almost instantly. "Leave…..Harry….alone…."

"What happened?" Hermione asked as Mr. Tartavu returned with Mr. Robbins and Ms. Meadows in tow.

"I'm not exactly sure at the moment, Ms. Granger." Dr. Lee said briskly. "But I do have a strong suspicion that…." She stopped speaking, shaking her head ruefully from sided to side, then turned to the other three adults in the room. "Sabine, get in contact with the Weasley's and Dumbledore, and get them here as soon as possible. Gabe and Ailric, go check the wards. I have a feeling that we're going to have some visitors very soon." The three adults nodded and scurried out of the room without question. Dr. Lee then turned to the three teenagers in the room. "You three, come with me."

She waved her wand, and Ginny floated from her spot on the floor, and glided towards the doorway with Dr. Lee right behind her. Hermione, Ron, and Harry followed her as she led them down the stairs and into the basement of the house, which was filled to the brim with bubbling cauldrons and shelves of ingredients. Harry noticed that there were two doors at the far end of the room, and Dr. Lee was headed straight for one of them. She opened the door, and floated Ginny onto the bed, then reached over and covered her up with a light blanket.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry asked, finally breaking the silence after the pale redhead was settled. "What happened?"

"She's never done that before. Ginny's always been a quiet sleeper." Hermione said. "At least when I've been with her."

"What…." Ron began, only to be hushed by Dr. Lee.

"I'm not sure, children." she said. "But that was no ordinary nightmare, I can assure you."

"Is there anything we can do?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, there is, as a matter of fact." Dr. Lee answered. "This house is going to lapse into complete and utter chaos is about five minutes. Hermione, Ron, I need you to go to the kitchen and make some very strong tea."

"My sister is lying here, almost dead, and you want us to go make tea!" Ron bellowed. "No way!"

"She is hardly dead, and there is a reason for it." Dr. Lee said sharply, pulling a small packet out of the pocket of her robes. "While you are steeping the tea, put this in with the leaves. Then bring it down here and give some of it to Ginny. She should be awake by then." Hermione took the packet without question, then tugged on Ron's arm none too gently.

"Harry, I need to tell you something before she wakes up." Dr. Lee said, her face utterly serious.

"What is it?"

"When Ginny wakes up, she's going to be on the verge of hysterics." she said calmly. "Because she just saw you die."

"What?" Harry asked, completely bewildered.

"She was attacked, Harry." Dr. Lee said. "Much like the way Voldemort led you to the Department of Mysteries, now he's looking for information about what the Order is doing, and he's exploiting his connection to Ginny to do it."

"Ginny doesn't have a connection to him!"

"Riddle." Dr. Lee said sadly.

"But…how?" Harry asked. "I got rid of him, and destroyed the diary."

"I don't know, but I know what I saw when I looked in on her dream." Dr. Lee said. "She just saw you die at the hands of Tom Riddle, and it scared her. I've neutralized any further contact Voldemort can have with her, but it is only temporary."

"What can I do?" Harry asked.

"Keep her calm." Dr. Lee said, looking down as Ginny slowly started to come around. "Ms. Weasley? Ginny?"

"Dr. Lee?" Ginny said sleepily. "What…were am I? Harry?"

"I'm right here, Ginny." Harry said, watching as the tears in her eyes began to flow out, like a dam bursting. The redhead latched onto him, sobbing her eyes out and muttering incoherently that he was alright. Harry wasn't sure what to do, so he hugged her gently, more confused than ever, although Dr. Lee did not seem too surprised.

"He's fine, Ginny." Dr. Lee said calmly.

"But I saw you!" Ginny wailed, absolutely terrified, and still clutching him. "He cursed you…and threw you….you were dead….I couldn't help you…."

"Who cursed him, Ginny?" Dr. Lee asked. "Who hurt Harry?"

"Tom." Ginny sniffled. "Tom Riddle." Harry felt his blood run cold when Ginny said the name. He thought he had gotten rid of Riddle four years ago, when he had fought him in the Chamber of Secrets. But whatever Dr. Lee had seen was right, and he believed it, because the normally fearless Ginny was shaking like a squirrel and crying in his arms. Ginny continued to whimper, and Harry heard the sounds of people coming down the stairs.

Dr. Lee, who had been sitting across from him, closed her eyes and tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling as if for some sort of intervention from a higher being before getting up and heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, not sure of what to do with Ginny.

"She's not the only one he got tonight, Harry." she said sadly. "Molly and Arthur should be here soon, so just be patient, please." A woman he had never seen before stuck her head in the door then, clear panic on her face.

"Mikayla, we've got a problem." the black headed lady said. "We need you in here quick! Sabine's already working on him as we speak."

"I'm coming, Danae." Dr. Lee answered. She turned back to Harry and felt a wave of nausea run over her when she realized how much he looked like his father, and how much Ginny reminded her of Lily. It really was scary how much Harry was like James, and Sable absently wondered if Harry would share his father's fate at the hands of Voldemort as well in due time.

'_Not if I can bloody well help it!_' she thought angrily as she rushed into the other small ward, and froze in her tracks when she saw Remus lying on the once white bed sheets. The man that had left the week before was bruised and bloody beyond almost all recognition. He was unconscious, which was probably for the best since there were angry red blotches all over his neck and face, and a serious wound on the left side of his chest that was oozing pus and blood.

"…are you doing? Snap out of it, Mikayla!" came Sabine's snappish voice. "I need some help for Merlin's sake, he's about to go into shock!" Sable came back to her senses immediately, and went to Remus' side, absently reaching out to wipe some blood off his face, only to have her hand knocked away by Sabine's. "Put some gloves on! He's covered in silver dust!" Sable hurriedly put on the latex gloves and got to work, stripping off what was left of Remus' tattered shirt, only to reveal an imprint the size of a hand on his stomach.

"Bloody fucking hell!" she cursed, taking in the damage. "What happened to you, Remus?"

"Peter….ambush…." the injured man muttered brokenly.

"Okay, so you're conscious after all." Sabine muttered, grabbing her wand and muttering charm after charm, only to growl in frustration and call Ailric to her side to perform some charms.

Sable turned to Gabe and nodded to her laboratory.

"Get me some blood replenishing potion." she said. "And some anti-infection potions."

"We need to get the dust off." Sabine said, grabbing her wand and muttering a charm under her breath while Ailric continued to try and stop the bleeding. Two seconds later, the fine film of gray dust that had been covering Remus' body was gone. Sable grabbed some bandages and a wet wash cloth, then started to clean the clotted blood off as much as she could. She heard Ailric cast the healing charms to reduce the swelling and slow down the flow of fresh blood.

"…hurts…" Remus mumbled a few minutes later.

"I know it hurts, Remus." Sable said, wiping an antiseptic over the wound on his chest. "I'm sorry, but it's either this or let you bleed to death."

They worked on the werewolf for nearly fifteen minutes straight before the wound finally stopped bleeding freely. Dumbledore and the Weasleys had arrived only moments before, and were now at Ginny's side, though she doubted that the redhead girl had let go of Harry yet.

"Whoever got you tried to pull your guts out, right along with your throat." Sabine said, wiping the fingerprints around his throat with an anti-swelling solution. "That should help the swelling and open up your throat. Better?"

"Yes…" he muttered. Sable looked up in time to see his eyes roll back into his head, and she panicked.

"Remus, don't you fall asleep." she said loudly. "You can't sleep! Not now!"

"..tired…"

"I know you are, but you can't go to sleep, Mr. Lupin." Sabine said quickly. "You go to sleep now, and you're more likely to slip into a coma."

"…sleep…"

"Come on, Remus." Sable begged. "Stay awake just a little longer."

"…can't….tired…."

"Oh, yes you can." Sabine said, finishing up a few stitches on the wound on his stomach. "Think about something happy. Hell, think about mom dancing around in her underwear if you have to! Just don't go to sleep."

"That's …..worth….it…" he mumbled, causing Sable to turn red, and Sabine and Ailric to snicker.

"Glad to know your sense of humor is still intact." she growled. Remus just gave her a weak smile, then turned his head to the side and took a deep breath. Sable took another needle that Sabine had sterilized and went to work stitching up the huge gashes on his arms. Since he was doused in enough numbing potions to make him feel like he was floating on a cloud, he didn't even flinch when she threaded the needle through his skin.

"You still with us, Mr. Lupin?" Ailric asked a couple minutes later when he handed his sister a wet cloth.

"…tired…."

"Yeah, but these two said no sleeping yet." he answered, grinning. "And trust me, you don't want to disoby'em. They can get nasty, especially mom."

"Not…bad…"

"You try living with her." Ailric said.

"…okay…" Remus said quietly, looking over at Sable with cloudy blue eyes. Ailric just shook his head and handed his mom the dreamless sleep potion and blood replenishing potion. They had done all they could, now it was left up to Remus to fight his way out. Since none of them were actually Healers, they had done what they could. Most of their knowlede was based on the stuff Sable had learned in Auror training, and the Healing Charms that Sabine had read out of books and mastered for the fleeting few months she had decided to study to become a Healer.

"That's all I can do." Sabine said, standing from her position on Remus' other side

"…sleep…"

"You can sleep just as soon as you drink these." Sable said, quickly uncorking the potions and helping him to drink them down. He chocked on the dreamless sleep potion, and Sable was afraid he was chocking, but the coughing quieted down.

"You okay?" Sabine asked.

"…tastes bad.." Remus muttered.

"Everyone's a critic." Sabine said with a grin. "Alright Mr. Lupin, get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." Remus just grunted and closed his eyes as the sleeping potion went to work on his already exhausted body. Sable gripped his hand, and waited until she was sure he was sleeping before standing up.

"Dr. Lee?"

Sable turned around and found Dumbledore standing in the doorway.

"Albus." she said. "How's Ginny?"

"Peacefully asleep." the wizened Headmaster replied.

"Good, and the others?" she asked.

"Arthur is worried sick, and Molly is on the verge of hysterics herself." he said, walking to her side to look down at Remus. "Ms. Lovell and Tonks are with them as we speak."

"And Harry?"

"By her side."

"Ron and Hermione?"

"Hovering nearby." the wizard answered. "How is Remus?"

"He's beat up badly." she answered, her eyes resting on the sleeping man. "And there is a chance that some of the sliver dust got into his bloodstream before we got it off him. He's going to have a rough few days ahead of him, but he'll survive."

"Did he say how this happened?"

"The only thing he said was '_Peter'_ and '_ambush_'.He'll be more lucent once he's had some rest, though."" she said wearily. Dumbledore remained quiet, but motioned for her to precede him out the room.

"We need to see to Arthur and Molly." he said.

"Yes, I suppose we should." she said, finally turning away from Remus, albeit reluctantly. "And you need to find a way to explain to them why Voldemort is poking around in their daughter's head like it's his personal playground!"

* * *

**A/N -** Okay everyone. Here's the latest chapter in this crazy saga. I hope I haven't lost anyone along the way. Remember, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me, and I will answer them to the best of my abilities.

Until next time,

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review. I want to know what you think. ';)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer** - It's not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are Bella and her family. As well as Ms. Danae Lovell. You can't have them.

Special thanks to the following for continued reviews and well wishes.

**Sarah -** Once again, I am happy to hear your thoughts about the last chapter. It's good to know that some of the things I come up with are not as far fetched as I thing they are. (I.e. Peter and the silver hand. Ginny and Harry's resemblance to Lily and James. Etc..) Once again, thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Forever-a-Wanderer -** I hope you enjoy the chapters to come, and thank you for the review. It is greatly appreciated.

**Camilinha** - Umm, yeah, I figured you'd be a little angry. But, on the bright side, Ailric and Remus' little talk is in this chapter. Hope you enjoy, and I'll be on messenger soon.

**DaniLupin (Nimrodel Telcontar) -** I haven't hurt our Remus too bad. He'll be fine. And yes, Peter must die. I just have to figure out the most painful way to accomplish that particular task. Avada Kedavra is too quick, and torture is too messy….. Ah, well, I'll come up with something. ;)

**ElspethBates - **Zabini is going to play a key in the story later on, so there is going to be more interaction with Sabine (more so than Sable). But it is going to be complicated. As for the children getting mixed up with the students, I doubt it. Sabine is the only one who is really going to be in her teenage form periodically, so the answer is probably no

**Angel-girl-xxx **- The Remus/Sable thing is slowly progressing, and will for a while. As for where I get the names for my characters from….I just pick ones that I like. Ones that I think will fit their character. My best peace of advice is to Google for a baby name site that has the origins of different names from different countries. I always find some interesting names on their. As for where Sabine, Gabe, and Ailric's names came from…I picked names I liked, but that's about it.

**Lothliana** - Good to see that you're keeping with me. I hope this chapter is sufficient for your reading pleasure. ;)

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Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 10

Fixing What Ails You

* * *

Remus could honestly feel every single beat of his heart as it pumped blood through his veins, and the accompanying throbbing in his head as the pulse continued on unerraningly. His current feeling of half awake/half asleep was vaguely familiar. And he had actually thought he was dead for a little while; before he realized that where he was going probably didn't have silk sheets and a ceiling fan.

His run in with the Death Eaters had left him weak, and hurting all over the place. All he could remember from the night before was the sense of fear, and the urgent feeling to get away from the black cloaked men who were trying to kill him.

He'd been hit with numerous spells, but none of them had been enough to stop his exit from the building. Unfortunately, his luck had run out when he'd tripped over something and quickly found himself surrounded by Death Eaters, and looking into the beady eyes of Peter Pettigrew.

His old 'friend' had made short work of him, literally trying to strangle him to death after the Death Eaters had disarmed him of his wand. It had been an unfair fight from the beginning, with Peter having at least eight Death Eaters at his side, while Remus had been alone. Luckily, the werewolf had somehow managed to get his wand back, and Apparate out of the building. He still wasn't sure how he'd managed to do that, but at the moment he didn't particularly care.

He did remember seeing Nymphadora Tonk's concerned face flickering in and out of his sight, and then hearing Sable's voice ordering around someone. He remembered seeing his old girlfriend sitting by his side while numerous charms were being chanted, and someone poured vile tasting potions down his throat, but everything went blank after that.

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs brought his attention to the doorway, which swung open to admit Sable and Sabine, who was holding a large metal tray of medical bandages. Remus groaned and rolled over stiffly, not wanting anyone to go poking and prodding on his already pained body.

"Well, it looks like he's awake at any rate." Sabine said briskly, setting the tray down on a bedside table while her mother went over and pulled back the curtains of the eastern window, allowing the room to flood with morning light. Sabine immediately went to work while covertly watching her mother's interaction with the injured werewolf. Sable had been up most of the night, alternately checking on Remus and Ginny to make sure they were okay. Sabine hadn't quite figured out how the woman hadn't passed out from absolute exhaustion yet.

"How're you feeling, Remus?" her mother asked, coming to his side and shielding his eyes until they could adjust to the brightness of the sunlight.

"Have been better." he grumped, wincing when Sabine took his arm and checked the bandages. He tried to sit up, but a quick frown from both the women stopped that action in its tracks.

"Hey, tough guy." Sabine said gently, pushing him back down. "Lie down before you undo all my hard work."

"Where am I?"

"You're back in your room." came Sable's gentle voice. "You took a good beating, and we figured you'd want to get some rest after you were patched up."

"What happened anyway? You were in worse shape than Ailric was the last time he didn't take the Wolfsbane potion during a full moon and tried to eat himself up." Sabine said, reaching back for her wand to clean up the mess in front of her.

"I ran into an old friend."

"Peter?" her mother asked warily.

"Yeah." Remus grimaced. "The rat and his Death Eater buddies found me spying on them. And they proceeded to try and rip my throat out."

"Well, he almost succeeded." Sabine said grimly. "Almost took your heart along for the ride as well."

"The next Death Eater rally is going to be in Avonbury, three weeks from yesterday." he said, obviously tuning Sabine's voice out and focusing on Sable. "And apparently there are some plans in the higher ranking circles to get in touch with Lucius Malfoy."

"But he's in Azkaban." Sable said, frowning.

"That's what I heard." he sad. "At least before they caught me. How'd I even get back here?"

"You Apparated to Tonks' flat, actually." Sable said, putting her hand on his forehead to check for a fever. "Tonks and Danae brought you here, and we patched you up as well as we could." Remus frowned slightly, trying to place the unfamiliar name. Then he remembered the woman to whom it belonged.

Remus had known her since their time at Hogwarts. She had taken hundreds of points away from himself and the Marauders when she was a prefect, and Head Girl. But somehow, Sirius had won a spot in the Slytherin girl's heart, despite her House affiliation. He also knew that Danae had been one of the newly trained Aurors that had been forced to bring her old chum Sirius in when the Potters had been killed

Danae Lovell was a dark complected witch who worked at the Ministry; an Auror turned Unspeakable. She had been brought into the Order only a few weeks before they had lost Sirius at the Department of Mysteries, and had proven quite an asset.

She was somewhat eccentric, which had meant that she got along fabulously with Tonks, and helped keep the younger Metamorphagous' exuberant clumsiness under control. Her brief tenure as an Order member had helped to keep Sirius sane during his Dumbledore-imposed isolation at 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius had never said anything, but Remus highly suspected that there was more to that particular relationship than either sides had let on.

"You were in bad shape." Sabine said absently, checking the bandage on his neck and grimacing when she saw the congealed blood. "You and Ginny both gave us a right scare."

"Ginny?" Remus asked, sitting up quickly and flinching as sharp pains shot up his arm. "Is she okay? Where is Harry?"

"She was attacked last night." Sable said simply. "But Harry is okay."

"How?"

"Voldemort started going through her head." she answered, relating the incidents of the night before. "But I managed to neutralize the hold he had."

"Is she hurt?"

"Just a little shook up." Sable said. "Molly almost smothered her, though."

"Yeah, when she finally got her peeled off of Harry." Sabine muttered, re-bandaging the wound. "How's his stomach, mom?" Sable motioned for him to raise his shirt up, but the reluctant wolf frowned. He wasn't exactly used to stripping in front of people, and he didn't want to start now.

"We don't bite, Remus." Sable said dryly. Remus only frowned harder and lifted his shirt. The two women went to work, poking, prodding, and checking where Peter had tried to gut him.

"I think we managed to get all the silver dust out." Sable said absently, removing the bandage on his stomach and checking for any signs of blood poisoning. Her hands ghosted over a pair of scars near the wound that resembled claw marks, and Remus' muscles instinctively clenched.

She knew those particular marks quite well, as her own mother had put them on him their last Christmas at Hogwarts. She caught Remus' confused look, and quickly removed her hands, then stood up. There was a slight color to her cheeks.

"Well, it seems like you're going to live." Sabine said, picking up on her mother's sudden nervousness, and breaking the intimate stare-down between the two adults. The tension between the two was thick enough to drown in, and she had no desire to suffocate. She picked up her supplies and put them on the tray. "Here is the blood replenishing potion for you, and a dreamless sleep potion. Drink both and get some rest." With that last order, the witch turned and left, a slight smile on her face.

Sable watched her daughter leave the room in a swirl of robes, and could have sworn she saw her shoulders rising and falling in a silent chuckle.

"I'll be back in a little while. Try and get some rest, okay?" she said, turning back to where Remus was downing the blood replenishing potion, per Sabine's instructions. "I need to tell Dumbledore what you found out. Don't be too surprised if he comes to speak with you himself." She was about half way to the door when the tired man's voice caught her.

"Thank you." Remus said unexpectedly, causing her to stare at him in utter confusion.

"For what?" she asked. "I haven't done anything."

"You kept me from dying." he pointed out dryly. "I'd say that was something."

Sable smiled slightly and walked back over to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed, and leaning over to hug him lightly. It was the first physical contact they had shared since she had come back, and Remus was beginning to wonder if he'd scared her more than he had originally thought.

"Just don't do it again." she said quietly. "I'm an Auror, not a Healer." Remus put his arms around her waist and squeezed lightly. He could tell that she was scared, but he was relieved that his injuries had not been fatal, despite how he'd felt the night before. "You better be glad I don't faint at the sight of blood."

"Yeah, but whatever you did worked." he grinned, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt her smile reach up to tug the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"You need a haircut." she mumbled, changing the subject.

"I know." he said, stroking her hair. They dropped into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, content to reassure themselves that they were actually there, alive and in one piece. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"As long as you're here now." she said, pulling back. "I'm glad you're okay." She stood up and brushed her robes off, then pushed her hair behind her ears. "Get some rest. I'll be back up in a little while to check on you."

"Yes, ma'am." Remus said, lying back on the pillows and watching as she walked out the room quietly, pulling the curtains closed again so the room fell into darkness. He heard the click of the door latch catching, and the slowly quieting steps of Sable as she walked down the hallway and descended the stairs to the first floor of the house. He reached over and grabbed the bottle of dreamless sleep potion, downing the acerbic contents in one swallow, then allowing it to weave its relaxing spell on his still weary body.

It was a few minutes later that he finally succumbed to the elixir's power, and slipped into the pleasant lands of uninterrupted slumber, a small smile on his face.

* * *

Gabe and Ailric were talking to each other in hushed tones when Sabine came down from the stairs, apparently trying to keep their discussion to themselves. The young woman instantly picked up her brothers' uneasiness and vanished the tray of medical equipment with her wand. 

"Problems, guys?"

"Not really." Gabe said sourly. "Weasley just got told off by his sister. And Potter doesn't know whose side to take. Granger pulled Weasley outside a few minutes ago. And Potter's still with Ginny, more than like trying to figure out why he starts turning red every time she looks at him."

"Is that all?" Sabine asked. She hadn't expected a complete run down of what was going on with the Golden Trio and Ginny, but it was interesting to know why she had heard the door slam shut on the way down.

"And the bat is looking for mom." Ailric said, almost as an after thought. Sabine frowned and shook her head.

"What's Snape doing back here?" she asked. "I thought mom said he couldn't come back here."

"I need to speak with Dr. Lee." came the condescending voice from the doorway leading into the kitchen. The three siblings looked over and saw the man glaring at them. Sabine felt her skin crawl when the man's cool gaze swept over to her. This was one man that litteraly gave her the creeps!

"She's with Remus right now." Sabine said coolly. "She'll be down in a few minutes."

"I don't have time to wait around for her." Snape barked angrily, heading towards the stairs, only to be intercepted by Gabe.

"She'll be down in a few minutes." he repeated firmly.

"Get out of my way." Snape ordered. Gabe remained impassive, refusing to budge. "Move."

"She's busy." he said calmly. Sabine finally realized that Gabe was more like his father than she had realized. Even with the disguise in place, Gabe's facial expressions mirrored that of his sire's perfectly. The knitted brows and cool demeanor were identical. And their posture could not have been more similar. Gabe was truly Severus Snape's son, and that realization was a bit more than she had been hoping for, given Snape's reputation and Gabe's temperment.

"One would almost think you condone her time spent with that pathetic creature." Snape said, taking a step back and regarding the young man in front of him.

"I don't agree with her being with him anymore than I condone her being around you, should the truth be told." Gabe answered icily. "However, she is my mother, and he makes her happy. Back off."

"We protect our own, Snape." Ailric said, coming to his brother's side. Sabine walked over and stood next to her two brothers, almost forming a human shield in front of the older man.She had seen Ailric's unconscious movement towards his wand, and was getting ready to intervene should she need to.

"Your blind loyalty to your mother is sickening." the Potion's Master sneered.

"Yeah, well, so is your overall presence here." Ailric commented. "But we deal with it, don't we?"

"You insolent child! How dare you…"

"Severus?" came Dr. Lee's strident voice from the stairs. Sabine breathed a sigh of relief when their mother's face came into view. The younger woman had been afraid that Gabe and Ailric were about to hex Snape. "What are you doing here?"

"The Headmaster is asking for your presence." he snapped, glaring at the descending woman. She nodded and turned to the tense forms of her sons.

"Boys, what's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing." Gabe said easily, looking right at her. "Just talking." Sabine was not surprised to see her mother simply take the comment at face value and nod to them. Gabe always had been the one that could lie to their mother the easiest. But somehow, Sabine suspected that their mother always knew the truth in the end, no matter what it was. The woman just had an uncanny knack for telling when she was being lied to, especially by her own children.

"Dumbledore is here?" Sable asked Snape, seemingly surprised.

"Yes."

"Well, there is no need to keep him waiting, is there?" she asked, heading towards the kitchen. "If you'll excuse us, children." Snape shot one nasty glare to the three siblings, then followed Sable into the kitchen, shutting the door behind them.

"Merlin! I don't like that overgrown, blood sucking bastard!" Ailric fumed, his fists at his side. Sabine tuned out her brother, and focused in on Gabe. "..thinks he's so much better than the rest of us…."

"You okay, little brother?" she asked, watching him closely for some sort of reaction. The young man simply frowned and shook his head.

"I finally see where I got it from." he mumbled.

"What? Your personality?"

"My mannerisms." he said glumly, turning to walk out the room while Ailric continued to rant about Snape and his attitude problem. Sabine stood there, not knowing what to say to her brother.

Gabe had always been sort of the loner of the family. He was quiet, reserved, but overly temperamental when he had to be. Sabine had seen his anger only a handful of times as they had grown up, and had seen how cruel he could be to the ones that had taunted them while at school.

He could cut a person off at the knees with his insults and quips, and not care one way or the other. Hell, she wasn't even that bad, and she was the most temperamental of the three. The things that Gabe held dear, he protected with his life, and everything else was pushed aside.

And despite what their mother had always told them, about how much she loved them, and how much she would never give anything in the world for them, they realized that they were nothing more than unplanned accidents. And it hurt Gabe the most, knowing that his conception was due only to Snape's hand in the whole mess, and his status as one of Voldemort's more trusted Death Eaters. Hell, even she knew that Snape could possibly be her father, but she had never let it get to her the way Gabe did.

Gabe was the son of a Death Eater, and an unloyal one at that. Snape had turned his back on many in the wizarding world by becoming a Death Eater, and now he had turned his back on the Death Eaters, acting as a spy for the Order. And Sabine knew that the fact that his father was such a bastard was why Gabe had been reluctant about meeting him in the first place.

Gabe had just seen himself in Snape's face when he had faced him down at the foot of that stairwell. The very things that had made them so alike, despite their separation as he had grown up, had been realized. And Sabine had no doubts in her mind thather youngest brotherwas terrified of becoming any more like the man that had helped conceive him.

* * *

Sable sat down in the chair behind her desk, rubbing her temples and trying to get her thoughts in order before Harry got there. It was time to work on his Occulemency lessons, and if she didn't get calmed down, it was going to be worthless trying to teach him anything. 

The day had went from bad to worse after she had left Remus' room earlier that morning. The meeting with Snape and Dumbledore had ended up with Snape snapping at her, and insinuating that Remus was no better than that 'loud mouth, overgrown prat Sirius Black', as the Potions Master had so blatantly put it. Well, needless to say, she had gotten defensive and said a few thing she shouldn't have.

Dumbledore had finally managed to get between them, and calm then down. He had berated them for acting like a pair of squabbling school children. And the worse part was that the lecture from the wizened old wizard had actually made her feel guilty. So she'd taken to her lab for the next few hours, only to have Sabine come in and tell her about the little incident between Gabe and the greasy bat right before she had come downstairs. That had gotten her angry with Snape again. And she had searched the entirety of Haven's Hallow for Gabe before finally finding him in the jungle that Sabine called a greenhouse, tending to some of the family pets that had taken up residence there.

She had tried to talk to him, to make sure that he was okay, only to be met with a stony sort of silence that she had attributed to Gabe in his self-reflection mode. He boy was more pensive and serious than was good for him sometimes, but she knew that he wouldn't be cuddled, he never had. So, she hugged him, and kissed him, saying it would be okay, and not to worry about what Snape had told him.

Gabe had just asked to be left alone for a while, to think he had said; and she had nodded in understanding, leaving him be. It was at that very point in time that she had began to doubt her decision to come back to England.

Fortunately for her, there was a knock on her study door a few minutes later, and Sable was forced to push the matters pressuring her away from her immediate concern in order to focus on Harry and his lessons.

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to expect during this lesson. The first one had simply been him talking to Dr. Lee. So he was kind of curious as to what this one would hold.

He found the woman sitting at her desk, watching him enter.

"Harry." she said nodding in his direction. "Please come in."

"Dr. Lee." he answered.

"I'm glad you could join me, Harry." she said, smiling. "Are you ready to get started?"

"Yes." he said. His resolve to make it through the Occulemency lessons had strengthened after seeing what had happened to Ginny the night before. She was being targeted simply because she was his friend, and Voldemort had some sort of connection to her. He didn't want something like that to happen again, and if it meant making it through more Occulemency lessons, then so be it. "So, what do I do to keep people out of my head?"

"The first thing I want you to do is clear your mind, Harry." she said calmly. "The way I am going to teach you to do this is nothing like the way Snape tried teaching you. I'm not going to just assault your mind and expect you to figure it out on your own. Mainly because it's painful that way, but more importantly you don't really learn anything. Instead you react unconsciously. Now, forget everything and just relax. I'm going to walk you through this one step at a time. Okay?"

"Okay." he said, closing his eyes and trying to focus on the task at hand. He heard Dr. Lee stand up and begin walking behind him, then stop and place her hands gently on his temples.

"Now, I want you to picture a box, a container of some sort. Got it?" she said. Harry wasn't sure where this was going, but he done as she requested, picturing a box in his mind.

"Yeah." he said.

"Now, picture something else, it can be anything. But something that is a symbol for your memories. It can be anything, a book, a broom, a animal, anything. But treat that object like it holds all of your memories. Can you do that?"

"Yes." he answered. In his mind he could see a book with a green cover and gold writing on it.

"Now, throw that object into the box, and picture a shield around that box." she said calmly. "Protect the box with your mind. Remember, the memories you are protecting is what Voldemort will try to access. Guard them with your life."

"Alright." he said. In his mind's eye he threw the book into the little box, and stepped back, concentrating on seeing a small dome shaped barrier around it. "Now what?"

"You must keep your picture clear, Harry." she said gently, pushing slightly on his temples. "See ever single detail about that box, that object, that barrier. And hold it there."

"Okay."

"Now, I'm going to try and break through your barrier, Harry. It's going to feel like your head is overstuffed. You job is to push me out of your head, but never loose your concentration on that barrier and what is in it. If I manage to break your barrier, you have to control the flow of memories and stuff back into that box." she said, moving away from him. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three."

Harry felt the intruding presence in his mind as it tore at the barrier only moments after it made itself known. In his mind's eye, he could see a shadowy figure stalking around, growling and pawing that the dome he'd created in his mind. The creature finally let out a fierce snarl and swiped at the barrier, causing it to shatter like glass, and let the memories come rushing out like waves around him.

He saw his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon tucking Dudley into bed, while he looked on enviously. He saw Dudley's gang tormenting him at primary school….Uncle Vernon raging about his parents…Ginny lying on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets….

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he screamed, forcing the memories back into the imaginary box while simultaneously pushing at the intruding presence. "GET OUT!" He dropped to the floor on his knees, clutching his head. His vision was swimming and he barely recognized when Dr. Lee pulled him from the floor and onto the couch a few moments later. "What did you do?" he croaked. "What was that?"

"I broke through your defenses." she said calmly. "I was able to get through too easily, and do you know why?"

"No." he answered.

"Occumlems like myself and Snape must search out the defenses of their subjects." she explained. "When we perform the spell, and find the protected area, we have to feel out the pulses of the shield, almost like playing seek and destroy. Think of it was locking onto a specific wavelength. Once we do that, it is simply a matter of tapping into the defenses and tearing them down by overflowing the shield with my own innate magic. The only way to prevent the destruction of the shielding is to never let your opponent lock onto your 'wavelength', thus keeping the dome intact, and your memories locked away. Now, let's try it again, until you get the feel of what it is like when someone is tampering around in your mind."

Harry nodded and they repeated the exercise a dozen more times, until Harry finally got used to feeling someone poking around in his head and searching for something.

The next time he felt Dr. Lee pull out of his mind, he looked up at her and frowned.

"This isn't helping me stop someone from digging around in my head." he said. How do I keep them out?"

"You change the composition of the shield. The color, shape, size, etc. If you keep changing it randomly, then no one can tap into it."

"And how am I supposed to do that when I can't even keep you out now?" he asked.

"Concentration." she said. "For now, we're going to work solely on your concentration and focus. The changing will come later. Now, let's try again. I want you to focus all your attention on pushing me out of your mind, Harry. I'm not going to attack your defenses immediately, but I want you to push me out. Okay?" Harry nodded and stood up once again, facing the woman. "One, two, three."

Harry immediately felt the intrusion, and gathered his mentality to push her out, but kept his focus on the small imaginary box in his head.

But Dr. Lee seemed to change her tactics. She pushed at the barrier, then let up and disappeared. He could still feel her presence there, right along the outskirts of his consciousness, apparently biding her time. Harry was just about to say something when he felt a crushing sensation in his skull, almost like someone was pinching his brain with a vice.

He dropped to his knees again, a strangled moan escaping his lips.

"Fight it, Potter!" the woman growled. "Don't let me do this to you! Push! Focus your energy and push me out! Concentrate!"

"I…am…"he stuttered, sweat beginning to pour off his head the longer they stayed locked in the mental battle.

"No, you are not!" she snapped. "Don't be a useless slacker! Concentrate!" The pounding pressure in his skull intensified ten fold and Harry screamed; and somewhere in the back of his mind, a dam broke, and his anger washed out.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" he screamed, pushing back at her hold as hard as he could.

He suddenly saw flashed before him of dark corridors and Death Eaters surrounding him…a picture of a grinning brown headed boy in Hogwart's robes…a stag, a dog, and two wolves fighting two other wolves in the snow while two black cloaked people looked on….a small coffin being laid in the ground…two familiar burning red eyes…a man and woman being with a flashing green light, and then slumping over…dead…

He felt the pressure ease instantly, and then slowly disappear. When he opened his eyes and glanced up, he saw Dr. Lee on her knees as well, clutching the sides of her chair with one hand, and her head with the other.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked breathlessly, looking over at him.

"I think so." he choked out, pulling himself up once more. "What just happened?"

"You pushed me out, quite violently I might add." she said, rubbing her head and getting to her feet. "Well done. You caught me off guard."

"Those weren't my memories." he stated. "How did I see that?"

"You pushed me out, and your innate magical abilities spilled over." she explained, taking a seat at her desk. "The backlash of your magic attacked the force that it sensed as an intruder. Sort of like a built in security system. It's the same thing that happened with Snape."

"Oh." he answered, not sure as to what to say. "Who were those people, the man and woman? And why were they surrounded by Death Eaters?"

"Those two were my mom and dad." she said, gesturing for him to take a seat. She waved her wand and two butterbeers came flying through the pet door at the bottom of the room's door. "Here, drink this." Harry popped the top on the drink and took a refreshing gulp, allowing it to settle into his stomach before he continued.

"They were killed by Death Eaters?" he asked.

"Right in front of my eyes, Mr. Potter." she said sadly. "I wasn't much older than you, in fact. And I watched them be murdered."

"I'm sorry." he said.

"They took more from me that night than can ever be replaced, Harry." Dr. Lee said sadly, and Harry could swear he saw her eyes tearing up.

"And the coffin?" he asked.

"My youngest daughter."

"Death Eaters?"

"No. Thankfully not."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" he began, not sure of what to say to her.

"It's okay. I've had a while for he pain to fade." she said, downing the drink and wiping her mouth absently. Harry suddenly felt horrid for being so rude to the woman in front of him. He hadn't realized how right Remus had been when the werewolf had told him that Dr. Lee had just as much reason to fight Voldemort as the rest of them.

"Why were they killed? Your parents I mean." he asked timidly. "And why were you there? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"My parents were captured and used as bait." she said. "When I got to them, I was given an ultimatum. Either we go to Voldemort's side, or he'd kill us all. My parents refused, and tried to get me out. Voldemort killed them, and I was rescued before they killed me as well."

"I didn't know." Harry said again. "I never realized…when Remus said you had lost someone to the Death Eaters, I had just assumed…I thought it was your husband or something."

"Oh, they took the man I loved away from me as well, just not like you may be thinking." she said vaguely. "They made it damned well impossible for me to stay with him, that for sure!"

"But if…" he began, only to be waved off by her hand.

"That's enough for this evening, Harry." she said. "You've done much better than I expected. You have the potential, you just need some work. I want you to practice forming those shields every night before you go to bed. Right before you go to sleep, lock you little object into that box. It'll be good practice, and it'll help incase Voldemort decides to go poking around again."

"That's it?" he asked.

"For now." she said with a smile. She sat back in her chair and Harry could feel her eyes boring into him as he walked towards the door. "You're quite a surprise, young man. Lily and James would have been proud of you, especially your mother."

"How well do…did you know them?" he asked quietly, turning back to look at her.

"Well, she said, smiling. "quite well, as a matter of fact. I still remember when your father pranked the Ravenclaw Quidditch team's hair to fall out, and your mum found out. She was none too happy about it. Hexed your dad so many times, no one could recognize him after she was finished! And Sirius and Remus were no help whatsoever. I'd never seen two half grown boys run that in all my life. I think Sirius would have even outrun his more canine half."

Harry seemed to withdraw with the mention of his god-father. And he could see Dr. Lee visibly flinch at the realization that she had put her foot in her mouth.

"I'm sorry." she amended. "I just forget that I have so many memories of them, when you don't."

"It's okay." he said simply. "I'm kinda used to it by now."

"No, it's not okay, Harry." she said. "Nor is it fair for you." Harry seemed to regard the woman a bit, but just shrugged and continued towards the door.

"Goodnight, Professor." he said.

"Goodnight, Mr. Potter." she said gently, watching him as he let the door swing shut behind him. "Sweet dreams,child."

* * *

Remus shook his head and tried to clear the foggy feeling of being forced to sleep from his brain when he heard a knock at the door leading into his room. He called out for whoever it was to open it, and was more than a little surprised to see Ailric standing at the door. 

"Hey." he said nonchalantly, nodding to Remus. "You holding up?"

"I have been better." Remus said, pulling himself up into a sitting position. The boy seemed slightly nervous for some odd reason, and Remus was beginning to wonder why.

"Mom asked me to come check on you while she was giving Potter some Occulemency lessons." he explained, as if that alone spoke for itself.

"I'm glad you're here, actually." Remus said. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now."

"About what?" Ailric asked.

"A couple of things." the older man said. Ailric seemed to be waiting for him to speak again, and Remus took a deep breath, readying himself for the fight of his life just in case this didn't go as well as he had planned.

He'd wanted to talk to Ailric for some time since they had moved back to England, but had not known what to say to the boy. He was kind of at a loss as to a topic of conversation, especially when the only thing Remus wanted to know was more about his son. There had been a more than just a few awkward moments between the two of them, which usually ended in someone else jumping in to keep things from going down hill.

Merlin, all he wanted to do was find out about his son, especially since he never really thought he'd ever have a wife, much less any children.

"Well, what did you want to know?" Ailric asked.

"About you…your brother and sister." he said. "What…how…what it was like for you growing up. Why you agreed to come back here. Things like that."

Remus saw the younger man's posture change immediately from somewhat relaxed, if a little nervous, to completely defensive and on edge.

"Look, you weren't with us as we grew up, and it's not your fault. You thought mom had died, and she was terrified that coming back here would endanger everyone she loved." Ailric said. "Yes, she probably should have contacted you and Snape for that matter, and she shouldn't have sworn Dumbledore into secrecy, but she did. And at the time, it seemed best."

"I understand that." Remus said. "But it doesn't change the fact that I don't know anything about you, or Gabe and Sabine."

"I'll tell you straight, Remus." Ailric said simply, staring the older man in the eyes. "I don't know you enough to pass my opinion off on you, at least not yet. But I can tell you that I've never seen my mom as happy as she is now. Hell, up until you popped back up, and we got dragged over here, I'd never been able to make her blush! Now her face turns into a fine example of a tomato anytime someone even mentions your name!"

"But, I…" Remus said, trying to figure out where to take this conversation. "At least give me a chance to get to know you. That's all I'm asking for. I don't expect that much, but a lack of open hostility would be good."

"Hostile?" Ailric asked, cracking into a laugh. "You think I'm hostile? Oh, Merlin, that's rich!"

"That wasn't a joke." Remus said, completely serious. Ailric just wiped his eyes and shook his head at the older man's obvious discomfort.

"I'm sorry." he said, biting back another laugh. "But usually Sabine or Gabe are the ones accused of being hostile, not me."

"Yes, your siblings can be rather intimidating." he said.

"You have no idea." Ailric said, the sarcasm overly thick. "So, what do you want to know about us?'

"Anything, really." Remus said.

"Well, we're not all that hard to figure out." Ailric said easily. "Gabe is a potions freak who has an unnatural knack for messing with animals. I am the joker of the family who randomly Transfigures objects to run around harassing my older sister, and will talk to pretty much anyone. And Sabine is one hell of a Healer, if you can get passed her sarcasm...and drag her out from that jungle she calls a greenhouse."

"How do you three do it?" Remus asked, shaking his head. "You're so inexperienced, so…so..."

"Young?" he supplied, causing Remus to nod his head.

"You know as well as I do that lycans are one of the most misunderstood and feared magical beasts in both worlds." he said. "When the three of us started school at Salem, it wasn't long before we realized that our differences kept us apart from the majority of the other students.People like usare not as persecuted and ostracized in the States as they are here, but it still wasn't easy."

"You turned to books." Remus stated quietly, realizing where this was going.

"Well, that's the natural part of being unnatural. After a while, alienation comes as second nature to you. But yes, books were our refuge." he said sagely. "They didn't snicker or stare. They didn't call us names behind our back. They didn't judge or begrudge us because of what we were. Don't get me wrong, we had a few close friends who didn't care one way or the other. Granted two of them were vampires, one another werewolf, and another was three-quarters veela, but still."

"I thought werewolves and vampires didn't get along?" Remus asked.

"Well, normally we wouldn't." Ailric said, a sudden grin on his face. "But when the rest of the older students finally rallied against us, we figured scaring them into thinking we'd seduce them, bleed them dry, and then eat them would keep most of the trouble away."

"You intimidated them?"

"Sure did." Ailric said cheekily.

"Did it work?"

"Mostly, but there were still a brave few who we couldn't scare away." he said. "A hand fullof them actually became our friends, but there were a few bad Snitches in the bunch."

"Like who?"

"Well, Sabine's last boyfriend is the best example." he said.

"Boyfriend?"

"His name was Deek, and he was a Quidditch player." Ailric explained. "We didn't know it at the time, but he had been dared to date Sabine for a while, and then dump her."

"He hurt her, didn't he?"

"Bad." Ailric answered. "They broke it off after a few months, and a couple days later, Sabine saw him and his little fuck buddy strolling around campus. She tried to avoid them, but the pair started taunting her. Deek openly mocked her in front of everyone, quoting the things she'd said to him, and then telling her that she was nothing more than a filthy half-breed bitch."

"She took that?"

"She stood there and took it." he nodded. "Deek's Quidditch buddies had joined in the taunting by then, and they had moved on to picking on me and Gabe. By the time we got to her, Sabine was on the verge of slitting their throats. It was two days after a full moon, so all us 'weird' kids were kind of high strung anyhow. I think that's what finally made Sabine snap."

"Snap?"

"She attacked them." Ailric said. "It was a free for all for a while, and Sabine was nowhere near finished knocking heads when we all separated."

"Was she hurt?"

"Other than a few bruises, no." he said, shrugging. "Deek actually took the brunt ofit. Split lip, black eye, things like that. Oh, hewas scratched up a bit, but no one ever told the teachers, so it was okay. Sabine stayed depressed after that for a long time, but we finallyfixed it."

"How?" Remus asked, wondering what the group of teenagers done.

"Gabe and I banned together with a couple of our buddies and beat the shit out of Deek and his Quidditch buddies, then dumped them at Sabine's feet." Ailric said cockily. "Jace and Marco took care of some other loose ends, and Valkyerie handled the little bimbo that had been with Deek."

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?" Remus asked, realizing that had the Marauders been in the same position they would have probably done something eerily similar. If the truth was told, that had happened to one of Sirius' ex-girlfriends at one time, and they had done the same thing.

"Nah, but the nurse stayed busy for a while." he answered, shrugging. "Ever since then, Sabine's been touchy about relationships in general. That's why we were so surprised when she told mom to come back to Britain and make amends with you and Snape."

"What does she think of Snape?"

"Don't know for certain. But I don't like him."

"And Gabe?"

"He hasn't overly said anything yet either. But I'd bet he doesn't like'em. I don't think the bat has even spoken to Gabe since we got here, unless it was to snarl at him." Ailric commented dryly. "You should have seen'em this morning. I thought they were going to blow the top floor of the house before mom got down there and broke'em apart. They're too much alike, those two."

"Severus is complicated." Remus said, feeling somewhat responsible for taking up for the Potions Master.

"He's an asshole." Ailric said bluntly, causing Remus to chuckle.

"Yes, I suppose he is." Remus answered. "Has your mother talked to him lately? I assume he's been avoiding this place since he found out the truth?"

"They had a run-in earlier, right after mom and sis checked up on you. I'm not sure what happened, though I think Dumbledore pulled Snape and mom into the kitchen and told them to quit acting like a pair of bickering teenagers. But I could be wrong. TheWeasley twin's latest set of Extendable Ears are a bit fuzzy."

"So they pretty much can't stand him then?" Remus asked, a grin on his face.

"We already told mom that we'd come along with this, if only for the reason to meet you and Snape." Ailric said, shrugging. "We're practically grown, Remus, and mom knows that. She also knew that the four of us would more than likely not get the warmest of receptions if we came back here."

"But you did anyways." he pointed out. "You did come back."

"We want our mom happy, Lupin. And if it takes her being with you, or even Snape, for her to be happy, then so be it. She begged us to give you both a chance to get to know us, and so far I'd say you're doing okay."

"Better than Snape?" Remus asked, completely serious once again.

"Do I really have to answer that? It should be obvious enough." Ailric said. "You're trying, which is more than I can say for bat-man." Remus frowned and tried to readjust himself once again. At his side, a clock chimed out ten p.m. and Ailric grimaced.

"Problems?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to go meet Gabe to help him milk a snake he got earlier today." he answered, frowning. "Not exactly something I enjoy." Ailric stood and brushed his pants off. "Mom should be in here soon to check up on you, so get some rest."

Remus nodded, feeling much better about where he stood with his son while he watched Ailric leave the room and yell for Gabe as he walked down the hallway.

Well it seemed like things were slowly on their way to evening out. He had not gotten his son's blessing, per say. But it was refreshing to know that the boy was willing to try and work out some form of relationship, given the circumstances of things.

Of course, he still didn't know what the other two siblings thought about him, but he'd work on that soon enough.

Right now, he was content to know that Ailric was at least willing to try something. Remus knew that Sable would not go against her children to pacify her own wants or needs, no decent mother would. But he also knew that she wanted her children to work something out with their previously unknown fathers if they could. And Remus, well, he was willing to get to know all the children, not only Ailric. He just didn't want them to think that he was trying to take their mother away from them.

Merlin knows, he'd seen them gang up on Snape once already. And he didn't want three different teenagers pointing their wands at him with nothing but murder on their minds.

* * *

**A/N** - Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I am sincerely sorry for taking so long to update. Studying for college finals is a pain. But the good news is that it's almost over, and I'll be able to update more often once they're over with.

Until next time,

Lots of love to ya'

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review. I love hearing what you think about the latest chapter in this saga!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer -** It's not mine. Never was. The only thing I own is the original characters that J.K. Rowling has not put into her wonderful stories. They are all mine. So don't take them without asking

Special thanks to the following people for reviewing

**Princess Danae -** Hey hun! How's it going? Anyhow, you're almost ready to graduate, aren't ya? I'll see ya there. Don't worry, I am not going to burn out on this story. I'm not so sure I'll have it done before the sixth book comes out, but…what the hell? Love ya lots!

**Forever-a-Wanderer -** Well, Happy Birthday! And thanks for pointing out the 'drug' thing. I'm from the Southern U.S. so that is actually a word down here. Sorry. Anyhow, I fixed it. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter.

**Camilinha-** Yeah, Sable's kinda got a plate full, doesn't she? I think I over did it a bit. ;( Anyhow, hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Later

**Sarah -** I read back over the conversation between Remus and Ailric, and I noticed what you mean. Yeah, he did jump the gun a little, but I blame that on nerves. I mean, wouldn't you? As for the questions you posted: The twins abilities rely mostly on who their father is. You'll get a bit of clarification in this chapter. As for how much longer it is going to be before you find out who is Sabine's dad…..I can't answer that. It's a surprise, and if I told you, it would ruin the ending. And as for the length…it's going to be good and long. I can't write a story that's not! Thanks again for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Later!

**

* * *

Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts**

**Chapter 11**

**It's Not All Bad…**

**

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**

"It's a bit odd, don't you think?" Hermione asked, lifting her head up to look at the two boys sitting across the table from her. "I mean, really."

"What is?" Harry asked, pulling his concentration away from the Potions text he was reading. They were once again in Dr. Lee's library, trying to finish up what little bit remained over their summer homework. However, it seemed that Hermione had other things on her mind.

"Dr. Lee and the others, just disappearing the other day." she clarified, frowning.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked. "Dr. Lee went with Remus for his transformation, she told us that. It was a full moon a couple nights ago."

"I know that." Hermione said, her brows furrowed in concentration. "But what about. Ms. Meadows and Mr. Robbins? They didn't have to go as well. That would be a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

"Dr. Lee told me that Ms. Meadows is off doing some work for the Order." Harry said absently. "That's why she's not back yet. And Mr. Robbins came back with Remus and Dr. Lee. He probably just went with her to make sure that nothing happened during Remus' transformation."

Hermione did not look to happy with that explanation, but had to concede that Harry had a point. There had been an Order meeting the day before the full moon, and Ms. Meadows had left right afterwards. Of course, the three of them had no idea where she was going, or what was even going on because Mr. Weasley had finally learned to put an Impertuable charm on the doors every time there was a meeting so that the twin's Extendable Ears were rendered useless.

"It still seems fishy to me." Hermione said simply, folding her arms across her chest. It's been barely a week since Remus was brought here after he was attacked, why would Dr. Lee take him somewhere else to transform during a full moon? He could stay upstairs and in his room as long as he took the Wolfsbane potion."

"He probably just did not want to take any chances." Harry muttered. "You know how he is. Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him all day?"

"I think he's helping Mr. Tartavu with some of the animals, or something like that." Ron said, scratching his head. "I saw him follow Mr. Tartavu outside earlier when we came in here."

"I thought animals didn't like werewolves?" Harry asked.

"They usually don't." Hermione said, shrugging. "But as long as Mr. Tartavu is around, his animals seem to behave themselves for anyone. They don't like Snape, though. The last time he came by, the owls tried to attack him. "

"You know he's going to be taking Hagrid's place as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher for a while, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Tartavu?" Ron asked. "Why?"

"I think Dumbledore's sent Hagrid back on another expedition to try and get the giants to help out." Harry said. Ron and Hermione looked at his quizzically.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked. "I hadn't heard anything about it?"

"Yeah, mate. Did Fred and George tell you or something? Cause they wouldn't crack when I asked them what was going on in the meetings." Ron said.

Harry shook his head, trying to come up with something to tell his friends that would sound plausible. He couldn't exactly tell them that Dr. Lee had been keeping him up to date on most of the actions of the Order, just like she'd promised, but he didn't want to lie to them either.

"I heard Dr. Lee talking to Mr. Tartavu about it." he said, not looking at either of them for fear of being caught in the lie. He'd been going to his Occulemency lessons every other day, and was slowly starting to figure his way through. But the best part was actually after the lessons, when Dr. Lee would tell him stories of his parents and Remus and Sirius while they were at Hogwarts.

It felt better, knowing that there was someone who he could relate to, and who was willing to tell him what he wanted to know about his mom and dad. Dr. Lee had even pulled out her Pensieve and let him see some of the old memories first hand. The woman seemed more than willing to share the information she had, and he was happy about it. Harry was not sure that Remus would be all that forthcoming with what he wanted to know, but Dr. Lee did not seem to mind it as much.

"Wonder how long it'll be before Hagrid gets back to Hogwarts." Ron said, flipping through a book about advanced level Transfiguration.

"No telling." Hermione said, standing up to replace a book she had finished reading. She disappeared between the rows of books and the boys could hear the scraping noises of her shelving the tome, and pulling out another one.

"Hey, mate." Ron said, pulling Harry's attention from the book in front of him once again. "Dad said that he might be able to get us out of here for a few hours this evening." Harry frowned, knowing that Ron had been getting antsy with not being able to leave the grounds of Haven's Hallow for the few weeks they'd been there.

"Where we going?" Harry asked.

"Not far." Ron said, shrugging. "Just to the Burrow. There's some stuff that dad wants to bring to Dr. Lee, and he needs some help. So he said that we can give him a hand if we want to. We should be leaving after lunch."

"Sounds good to me." Harry said. Truth be told, he was getting a little claustrophobic as well, being cooped up on the manor grounds. It would be good to get out for a little while. "How are we getting there? We can't Apparate."

"Dad's getting this place hooked up to the Floo network for a few hours." Ron said, shrugging. Harry nodded and tried to go back to his work, only to be interrupted once again when Hermione dropped a half dozen books on the table. Ron grabbed one and scanned over the cover, a frown on his face.

"_Hogwarts A History: The Truth Behind the Myths_" he drawled. "Sounds fascinating, Hermione." The bushy headed girl flushed and took it back.

"It's for my research." she snapped.

"Research?" Harry asked.

"Yes, research." she said primly. "Dr. Lee told me about an assignment that she is going to set, and I wanted to get a head start on it."

"Doesn't she always?" Ron mumbled, only to get a glare in his direction from Hermione.

"I'll have you know, Ronald Weasley…."

"What's it about?" Harry asked, interrupting the two of them before they could start arguing again.

"We have to research one of the myths surrounding Hogwarts." she explained. "You know, like the rumor of the Chamber of Secrets…"

"Write a bloody book about that one, we could." Ron said, frowning.

"Or something in Hogwarts that can be explained and linked back to the Founder's time. Like the moving staircases. Or the changing floor plan."

"What about the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and flipped through some of the texts.

"I don't see why not." she said, shrugging.

"When is she setting this essay, anyway?" Ron asked.

"I think she said sometime in October." Hermione said.

"October?" Ron asked. "Hermione, it's only the end of July!"

"So?" the girl asked, one eyebrow raised in question.

"You've got three months before she ever sets it! And another month before it is more than likely due!" Ron exclaimed.

"The month she gives us for turning it in I'll be spending trying to make sure your research is correct, Ron." she said simply. "And that is only if you don't wait until the night before to write it."

Harry stifled a grin on his face at the shocked look on his best friend's face. Hermione was right on the mark when she said that. And Harry had no doubt that Ron would indeed be searching her out to verify his essay before he turned it in to the new Defense professor. He was just about to question Hermione about the assignment further when an owl swooped into the room and landed in front of Hermione.

She looked somewhat surprised, but took the letter from the bird and petted it softly. Harry had never seen the owl before, so he didn't recognize it at all. But apparently Hermione had because she walked over to a small bowl that Dr. Lee kept full of owl treats and fed the beautiful bird perched on her shoulder a handful. While the animal was eating, Hermione opened the letter and shuffled the three or four pieces of parchment, scanning over them. She shot wide-eyed look over at Ron, who was watching her with curiosity, then folded them up and put them back in the envelope.

"Who's the letter from?" Ron asked, his curiosity piqued.

"No one." Hermione answered nonchalantly, grabbing a spare piece of parchment, scribbling a short note, then sending the owl off again. Ron seemed suspicious, but said nothing else about it, and the three of them settled back down to finish their homework.

A half hour later, Mrs. Weasley called them for lunch, and they left their work for later. Besides, according to what Ron had said, he would be leaving right after lunch to go help Mr. Weasley drag some stuff to Haven's Hallow.

_'Probably more Muggle electrical appliances.' _Harry thought with a grin.

* * *

"You know, I've heard of having an unhealthy obsession with a hobby, but this is absolutely ridiculous." Harry stated, looking down at the six boxes of shrunken appliances that Mr. Weasley wanted them go to through. They had been brought to the Burrow by the Weasley patriarch, and left there with instructions to go through the boxes and sort out the junk according to what it was supposed to do. Mr. Weasley had been called back to the Ministry on some report that there were biting garbage cans somewhere in London. 

"Now's the only time I can bring it out since Molly is at headquarters." he said with a wink before Apparating away. Ron just shook his head and plopped down on the couch nearest.

"Well, it's still better than hearing Hermione harp about getting our homework finished." he said, pulling open the nearest box. "I mean, we've still got a month before school starts. What's the big rush?"

"I expect she just wants to get ahead." Harry said, pulling a remote control out of the box.

"Well, this is still better than pouring over dusty old books." he said. "Who do you think that letter was from anyway? She wouldn't let me see it."

"Probably Krum." Harry said easily, then kicked himself for even mentioning the Bulgarian Quidditch player.

"What!"

"Well, the only time she hides what she's doing is when Krum is involved with it." Harry pointed out, trying to head off Ron's jealous ranting. "I doubt it is anything serious though."

"She's still writing to that….that…."

"Yes, she's still writing to him, Ron." Harry said. "And she's going to keep on writing to him despite what we tell her. You know she's not going to listen to your ranting and raving."

Ron fell silent, but his anger was apparent to Harry. The tips of his ears were redder than his hair. Harry didn't even think that was humanly possible.

They continued to sort the boxes as best they could. Ron didn't know what half of the stuff was, but Harry gave him a brief explanation for each one as they went along. The red head especially seemed to like the set of ball point pins that Mr. Weasley had somehow acquired.

"Look, Harry!" Ron said as he scribbled on a piece of the Daily Prophet. "The ink comes out of the tip. You don't even need an ink pot!"

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Harry questioned, rolling his eyes at Ron's enthusiasm over everyday things.

* * *

When they got back to Haven's Hallow that evening, the first thing Harry noticed was that all the lights were off in the living room. He, Ron, and Mr. Weasley had flooed back to the manor, and the only light that was visible was from the dying embers of the green fire from the fireplace. 

"Uh…Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked, reaching out to feel for some surface. "What's going on?"

"Well, Harry, I'm not exactly sure." came the disembodied voice of his best friend's father.

"You don't think they've all went to sleep already, huh?" Ron asked.

"Doubt it." Harry said. "It's barely dark outside." Almost as if he had spoken some sort of magic word, the entire house suddenly lit up, and numerous voices yelled out at Harry.

"SURPRISE!"

Harry looked around the room, rubbing his eyes while they adjusted to the brightness. When he quit seeing technicolor spots, he wasn't sure that he landed in the right place.

There were colorful streamers hanging all over the living room, and balloons floating around the ceiling. And a large number of sparkling fireworks whizzing in between the levitating balloons. He spotted Mrs. Weasley standing next to the dining room table that was groaning under the weight of a triple layered cake with **_'HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY HARRY!_**'written on the sides, as well as a large pile of brightly wrapped boxes. It finally sunk in what was going on, and Harry stood there in shock.

They had thrown him a surprise birthday party.

His very first birthday party. And a surprise party at that!

"Happy birthday, mate." Ron said, coming to his side.

"What…how…?"

"It was Hermione's idea, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, walking over and gathering him in a warm, motherly hug. "She thought it would be nice to give you a party this year since we got you away from your aunt and uncle in time for your birthday."

"I…"

"I know we're a day early, Harry." Dr. Lee said, coming forward and giving him a smile, then hugging him lightly. "But a many of the people who wanted to be here have to leave early tomorrow morning for some Order business, so we thought we'd just have it early."

"Hope you don't mind." Remus said, walking up to Dr. Lee's side, a grin on his face. The full moon had only been a few nights before, and Remus still seemed to be recovering from it, not to mention the ambush when he had been on reconnaissance work for the Order.

"No…not at all." Harry grinned, looking over to where Hermione and Ginny were stacking up the pile of presents. He scanned the room and found that the house was much more full than it had been when he and Ron had left.

Most of the members of the Order were present, including Dumbledore and McGonagall. He done a quick headcount and found that all members of the Weasley family were present as well, with the exception of Percy. Dr. Lee, Mr. Robbins, and Mr. Tartavu, were there as well, along with Ms. Robbins. Even Hagrid was standing over in the corner, a big grin on his face.

"Harry! Good to see you old chap!" George said, coming over to slap Harry on the back in greeting.

"How have you been? Keeping out of trouble, I hope?" Fred intervened, a big grin on his face. "Not driving mum up the wall, are you?"

"Cause you know, she's about loony already thanks to us."

"Don't need to push her much further…"

"..and she's going to be so far gone…"

"..not even St. Mungo's…"

"..would have a place for her!"

Harry grinned at the twins fanatics, well aware of the tension between the brothers and their mother. He had heard from Ron that Mrs. Weasley had demanded to know where they had gotten the money to finance their business, _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_. When they had only grinned and said a very prominent wizard in need of some good fun, the Weasley matriarch had blown her top. Fortunately, Mr. Weasley had gotten her calmed down, and she seemed to have let the matter go for the time being.

Harry was just thankful that they had not brought his name into the mess. He didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mrs. Weasley, but he also knew that by giving the twins the Triwizard Tournament winnings he was helping them realize their dream.

"So, how's the joke shop coming along, guys?" he asked.

"Splendid!" George said happily.

"We're going to put _Zonko's _to shame, we are." Fred said, that mischievous grin on his face that always meant trouble.

"Can't keep the shelves stocked!"

"Well, that's good to hear." Harry said.

"And we owe it all to our wonderful behind the scenes investor!" George continued on, grinning identical to his twin. "Such a generous soul, really." Harry just shook his head and nodded.

"Think nothing of it." he said quietly, turning away from where Mrs. Weasley was scolding Bill about the length of his hair. "Consider it a gift." The twins just chuckled and continued on their way, randomly throwing out some more fireworks in their path. He walked over to where Hermione and Ginny were standing and couldn't help but smile at the two of them.

"A surprise party?" he asked, pining Hermione with an unreadable look.

"I thought you might like it." she said, smiling.

"And you didn't see fit to tell me about this earlier?" he prodded.

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be a '_surprise_' if we'd told you about it, now would it?" Ginny asked, her hands on her hips, a George and Fred grin on her face. She had recovered from the attack on her mind rather quickly, and Harry didn't know what Dr. Lee had done to stop the invasion of privacy, but it apparently had worked well enough for Ginny to get back to her normal self.

"Was Ron in on this as well?" he asked.

"He was given the task of getting you out of the house while we set up." Hermione said. "You can thank Ginny for coming up with the Muggle appliance excuse. That was all her."

"Well, dad's had that junk sitting around the house for ages." she said with a shrug. "He doesn't know what it all does, or even if it works. But I figured it would serve as an inconspicuous distraction. Did it work?"

"I had no idea." Harry said, laughing at the red head. She winked at him.

"That was the point." she said, smiling.

"Come now, everyone." Mrs. Weasley called out before he could say anything else. "It is time for dinner."

"Yeah, mum's cooked up enough food to feed an army." Ginny snickered. "Come on, everyone!"

As everyone in the room slowly filed into the dining room, platters upon platters of food began floating from the kitchen and settling down onto the table. Harry sat down between Hermione and Ginny, watching as Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Dr. Lee carried more plates and dishes into the dining room.

When the last of the food was placed on the table, Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose from his spot in the center of the long table. Harry honestly thought he was about to make some kind of speech, but the only words out of the wizened man's mouth were,

"Eat up."

That seemed to be what everyone was waiting for. Suddenly, dishes of food were being passed around, and the level of noise in the room rose dramatically. Everyone was talking, and all their conversations were blurring together.

By the time dinner was over with, and everyone had their fill, Harry was absolutely sure that this was the best birthday he had ever had. Dr. Lee and Mrs. Weasley quickly charmed the table clear of everything except the huge birthday cake and large pile of presents. He couldn't remember how many times someone had wished him a happy birthday, but it was a lot considering he'd talked to everyone present at dinner.

"Time to get to the best part." Tonks said with a wink, gesturing towards the pile of presents. "Let's see what the birthday wizard got."

Harry tore into the presents with glee, quickly piling up his gifts. Ginny had given him a set of raven quills charmed to never run out of ink. Ron had gotten him a life time subscription to _Quidditch Weekly_. Fred and George had given him a huge box of _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_ pranks and jokes, including half a dozen fake wands and some candies that he was not in a hurry to eat. Hermione had gotten him a new school bag, saying that his other one was about to fall to pieces despite the charms she had put on it at the end of last semester.

By the time it was all over with, Harry had garnered a new pair of dragon hide Seeker's gloves, three pairs of new socks, mounds of sweets and rock cakes, a set of books about famous wizards with rare abilities, and an Egyptian pendant that was supposed to ward off evil spirits.

Around eleven o'clock, the Order members and various Weasleys began to disperse. By half past eleven, all the guests of the evening had left, and Harry was getting Ron and Hermione to help him carry his stuff up to his room. Ginny was helping her mother tidy up the dining room and kitchen, and Remus had left out with Mr. Tartavu and Mr. Robbins a few minutes before.

"Harry, can I speak with you for a moment?" Dr. Lee asked, catching him before he got up the third step of the staircase. He motioned for Hermione and Ron to go on up, and then turned to follow Dr. Lee into her office.

"Is something the matter?" Harry asked, taking his customary seat in front of the woman's desk a few minutes later.

"Nothing at all, Harry." she said with a smile. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and to give you your gift."

"Excuse me?" he asked. "I thought you already…"

"Yes, the books were part of my gift to you." she said, waving it off. "However, there is something else that I wanted you to have. Well, actually, it came from a great number of the Order members, not only me. But I can take the credit for the idea, however." She reached down and withdrew a small box from her desk drawer, sliding it across the smooth surface towards him. Harry took the small package and opened it carefully. Inside the tissue paper was a small, multifaceted crystal ball-like object sitting on a pewter stand.

It was about the size of the Neville's Remembrall, but it didn't appear to do anything special. He wrapped his hand around it, and suddenly felt it warm in his grip. He released it just as quickly and looked up at Dr. Lee in confusion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"An Emotemorie sphere." she said. "It is a modified Pensieve of sort that allows not only the memories of its owner to be seen, the emotions that they were feeling at the moment as well."

"It holds memories?" Harry asked, somewhat confused as to why she would give him something like this.

"Yes." she said, suddenly becoming very nervous. "I…I thought you might want…..well…."

"Dr. Lee?" Harry said uncertainly. The woman in front of him had never stuttered since he'd met her. Now she seemed to be tripping over what she wanted to say to him. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Harry." she said, taking a deep breath, seemingly steadying herself. "Just not sure of how to explain this to you." She stood up and walked over to the farthest window of her office, peering up at the near full moon and sighing. "Harry, I wanted you to have some memories of your parents. It's just not fair that so many of us knew them, and their own son doesn't."

"I don't understand." Harry said.

"There are already memories in that sphere." she said, nodding at the crystal in his hand. "You seemed to enjoy seeing my memories of your mother and father after your Occulemency lessons so much…that well…I gathered up ones from other people, members of the Order that knew your mom and dad. They're in that sphere, waiting for you see."

"You mean…"

"I can't tell you what type of people your mom and dad were, Harry, because there is no words to explain it." she said. "It's better for you to see for yourself how they were when they were younger. I can't give you back Lily and James, Harry, but I can let you know what kind of wonderful people they were. And I can show you how much they loved you."

"I don't know what to say." Harry said, looking down at the small sphere. "I…"

"I know it's somewhat of a touchy subject." she said quickly. "And I don't want to upset you; that was not my intention at all. You don't have to accept it, if you don't want to. I just thought you might enjoy seeing other people's perspectives about what your mom and dad were like."

"What about Sirius?" Harry asked suddenly, looking up at her.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Is he in there, too?" Harry asked. "Are there memories of him in there as well?"

"Yes, there are." she said. "Remus' memory of your parent's wedding is in there, including how Sirius got a little tipsy and botched his toast to your parents at the banquet that evening. Quite a laugh, that one is."

"Do these memories…does everyone still have them in their own minds?" he asked.

"Well, yes." she said. "Unlike a Pensieve, that sphere can actually copy memories and store them. So yes, Remus still has his memory of their wedding, and I still have the memory of your mother tossing James in the lake at Hogwarts and him coming up close and personal with the giant squid." Harry just sat back in complete silence, not sure of what to say.

For so long he had wanted to know about his parents. To see exactly how true it was when everyone told him that he was just like his father, or that he had his mother's eyes. Now he had that chance. He could see first hand how they were instead of picking up stray bits of information that he was told.

"Harry?" Dr. Lee asked, causing him to break out of his inner monologue. "You okay?"

"I just don't know what to say." he said, shaking his head. "I never thought I would be able to see them."

"The ones we love never dies, so long as we have memories of them to keep us company." she said solemnly. "You don't have any memories of them, so we're lending you some of our own."

"I….thanks." he croaked, his throat closing up at the feelings inside him that were threatening to get out. "Thank you, Dr. Lee. This is the best birthday present I could ask for."

"Like I said, you deserve it, Harry. You of all people have the right to understand how you got here." she said gently. "Now, do you want me to tell you how to work that thing?"

"Yeah." he said eagerly, still clutching the ball. The woman smiled and leaned up against the edge of her desk, arms folded.

"Well, the first thing you've got to do is….."

* * *

**A/N** - Okay everyone. Here is the latest chapter. I know what you're thinking…nothing happened. But I'm going to tell you that it is NOT a filler chapter. This will play a big part in the story later. So hang in there with me, and remember this chapter!

Anyhow, I'm off to write the next chapter.

Later,

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review. I want to know what you are thinking. ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer -** It's not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are the ones that our dear J.K. Rowling has not yet created.

**A/N** - Special thanks to the following people.

**Princess-Danae** - Congratulations on finally getting out of HHS. I didn't get to talk to you graduation night, but I was there, rooting you on

**Lothliana -** The memories in the sphere will be shown, but not very soon.

**Nimrodel Telcontar -** Memories will be show. And of course Remus is ok. I wouldn't hurt our wonderful werewolf beyond repair.

**Forever-a-Wanderer -** Thanks for the review, and I will go back and correct that more than ambiguous statement. Thanks for pointing it out.

**Camilinha -** The discussions between the four will come soon. As for when they will kiss…..it's a ways off. Take care, and I'll talk to you on the IM later.

This chapter is dedicated to **Princess-Danae**, a good friend and faithful ally of mine who has finally graduated from that hell-hole of a torture center we collectively call high school. This one's for you, **Nae-nae**. Love you lots, girl!

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_Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 12_

_Compounded Problems_

* * *

The few weeks after Harry's birthday party passed rather quickly for the occupants of Haven's Hallow. The summer homework that had been assigned by their teachers was quickly completed with the help of various adults that came and went from the house. This left time for more leisure activities. And the one that took up the most of Harry's time was the Emotemorie sphere that Dr. Lee had given him for his birthday. She had shown him how to activate the memories within the small crystal, and even how to select which ones he wanted to see. 

He'd spent hours and hours the few days after his birthday watching the memories over and over again, and seeing how his parents had interacted with each other during and after their times at Hogwarts. Harry had quickly come to realize that his mother was a powerful witch with a short temper, and a sense of justice that was infallible. And he'd finally seen exactly why everyone had said he was so much like his father. James Potter was like an older copy of himself, and it made Harry feel much better when he finally had proof that his parents had loved each other dearly during their marriage, despite what he had originally thought after seeing Snape's memory in his Pensive.

When Hermione and Ron had finally managed to drag Harry away from the memory sphere for a little while, Harry had walked away with a sense of understanding as to why his mum and dad had done what they done in order to protect him from Voldemort's reign. He'd even let Hermione and Ron see a number of the memories.

Their O.W.L. scores also arrived not long after the beginning of August, right at the same time their booklists from Hogwarts arrived. Harry managed to get by with the majority of his testing. Even receiving an 'E' for his Potions O.W.L. He had remembered what McGonagall had said about becoming an Auror after Hogwarts, and the extensive training he would need before considering that career. Thankfully, it seemed like his grades were up to scratch so far, and the thought of becoming an Auror was suddenly not as outlandish as he had originally thought.

Hermione had been ecstatic to find that she had received top marks in all of her tests, and even Ron was surprised to see that he'd done better than expected. This alone had sent Mrs. Weasley into a fit of giggles, causing Ron to turn as red as his hair. Of course, when the shiny silver Prefect badge came in the post along with the O.W.L. scores it only made Mrs. Weasley's tittering worse. Both Hermione and Ron had been named as Prefects again this year, but it didn't bother Harry so much now. He had even received a letter from McGonagall saying that the ban Umbridge had implemented to keep him away from Quidditch was overturned.

The booklists had been slightly altered this year. Dr. Lee and Mrs. Weasley had went to Diagon Alley to get the books and other supplies since it was still deemed to risky to have Harry and the others spotted in public. The two women had left together one morning to get the needed supplies, and Ron and bet Harry that one of them would be coming back more than just a little peeved at the other before long. But surprisingly enough, they had both come back later that evening, not a hex mark on either of them.

The two women had been forcibly cordial to each other ever since Mrs. Weasley had found out that Dr. Lee was passing along Order information to Harry and blown up at the younger woman. Mrs. Weasley had raged and raged for nearly a half hour, saying that Harry was not a member of the Order, and did not need to know what was going on.

Dr. Lee had simply waited until she was done pitching a fit before calmly turning around and shutting the door in Molly Weasley's face.Shehad also quickly pointed out that it was her house, and she would do as she damned well pleased. Dr. Lee also calmly pointed out that it was because they were hiding information from Harry before that Sirius was not dead. And that Harry had faced Voldemort more times than all of them combined, and had come out alive every time, despite the fact that he was only sixteen years old.

Molly had tried to pull Ron and Ginny out of Haven's Hallow the day after that particular fight, saying that they didn't need to know what was going on because they were too young. But, as Harry had promised, he had not told any of them what he had discussed with Dr. Lee and Remus, so Ron and Ginny knew absolutely nothing. They thought their mom had went completely starkers when she told them to pack their things up.

Dr. Lee had even stepped in and offered Vertiserum to Mrs. Weasley in defense of Harry. Ron and Ginny had taken the truth serum voluntarily, and when they had confessed to knowing nothing about Order business, Molly had given up. Needless to say, the two youngest Weasley's had remained with Harry and Hermione in Haven's Hallow.

After that, Molly Weasley seemed to have given up trying to undermine Dr. Lee, which left the Order meetings much less tense and strained. Of course, Harry knew that it would only be a matter of time before Mrs. Weasley's overprotective instincts kicked in again, and had another row with Dr. Lee. He just hoped they could hold off until it was time for term to start. Then Dr. Lee would be at Hogwarts, and Mrs. Weasley would be back at her own home.

Luckily enough, it seemed like Mrs. Weasley had once again started to avoid being at Haven's Hallow unless it was necessary, or if she was checking in on the them. Harry also noticed that Dr. Lee had taken to spending large amounts of time in her laboratory that was in the basement of the large house. When he asked what she was doing, she had told him research, but nothing else.

And since Potions was one of Harry's least favorite subjects, he didn't push the subject.

He did know that Dr. Lee and Remus had taken off about halfway through August, and not come back for a couple of days. The two adults had seemed more engaged to each other than ever, and Harry was beginning to wonder what exactly was going on between the two of them.

Apparently, Snape and Mr. Tartavu had noticed it as well, and neither seemed to be all too happy with it. Ms. Meadows had had to forcibly calm down Mr. Tartavu a few times over the past weeks, but Harry never knew why the young man was so upset or mad. And Snape, well, he just continued on being like he normally was. But he didn't get into anymore altercations with Dr. Lee or any of the newer members of the Order.

Things were as calm as they possibly could be. Harry continued on with his Occulemency lessons with Dr. Lee every few days, building his defenses slowly, but correctly this time. His depression over losing Sirius had lifted, if only a little. He still missed his godfather, but the memories of his parents and Sirius from the Emotemorie sphere helped to ease the pain of their absence.

All things considered, it was rather pleasant. And when Harry turned down the blanket and crawled into his bed the night before they were to leave for King's Cross, he fervently prayed that the peacefulness would follow him to Hogwarts.

* * *

"Ms. Weasley! Ms. Granger! Get those boys up and get down to breakfast, will you?" Dr. Lee called up the staircase. "We leave for King's Cross in an hour!" The good doctor heard a vague sound of affirmation float down the banister, right along with a yelp that she quickly recognized as Ron's surprised voice berating his sister. 

_"Ginny!" _

"Don't start, brother dear. Time to get up."

"What're you doing in here? This is mine and Harry's room!"

"Trying to get you awake and to breakfast? Now get up or I'll go get another glass of water!"

"Get out!"

Dr. Lee smiled at the exchange between the siblings, her mind briefly going to the attempts to wake Sabine up in the mornings, and how Ailric usually accomplished that task with a couple glasses of cold water.

"And tell Mr. Weasley that if he does not get down here, there will be no food left!" she called out once again. That threat apparently did the trick, as all sounds of bickering between the two siblings vanished at the same time she heard a vague thump of feet hitting the floor. A few moments later, Hermione and Ginny descended the stairs with a still yawning Ron and Harry behind them. The four teenagers took a seat at the breakfast table and quickly piled their breakfast onto their plates.

"We're leaving in an hour for King's Cross." Dr. Lee said as she walked around the table and took a seat next to Remus. "I hope you all packed last night."

"We did." Ginny reassured her.

"How are we getting there?" Hermione asked.

"We're taking the Knight Bus." Remus answered. "It's the safest way, and quickest."

"Danae and Tonks should be arriving with Moody and Shacklebolt shortly to come with us. Your mother and father will be with us as well." she said, nodding to Ginny and Ron.

A few moments later, a popping and cackling sound was heard, and Remus and Dr. Lee rose from the table, heading quickly for the living room.

"Wonder what that was?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"Message from the headmaster." Ms. Meadows said, coming into the kitchen. "Nothing to worry about, Harry." When Remus and Dr. Lee entered back into the kitchen a few minutes later, along with a few other members of the Order, breakfast continued on. After they were done eating, Tonks sent them to get their trunks from upstairs.

They left Haven's Hallow and walked past the barrier shields that kept the house concealed from Muggles and most magic folk alike. Remus stuck his wand out and a loud banging sound was heard as the large, purple triple-decker bus appeared from out of nowhere.

When the bus stopped in front of them, Harry immediately recognized the young man standing in the doorway as Stan Shunpike. After the customary greeting, and Remus exchanging a few hushed words with Stan and the driver, Ernie, they were on their way. Harry took a seat and waited for them to get to London, watching as the lines and lines of trees and moors turned into houses and lamp posts.

* * *

Once the Knight Bus dropped them off at King's Cross, it was only a few short minutes before they slipped through the magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10, finding themselves standing on platform 9 ¾. 

"We're here a bit early, so you should be able to find good seats." Dr. Lee said to the four of them. "Go on and put your trunks on the train, then you can come back out and say your goodbyes."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione complied quickly, bringing their belongings to the scarlet steam engine and finding a place to put them while Dr. Lee and a few other Order members dispersed into the crowds.

"Is everyone in place?" Remus asked, coming up to stand by her side and watch the four teenagers disappear into the train.

"Dumbledore sent word for Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Moody to be on the lookout." she answered. "Hestia Jones and Emmaline Vance are in the crowd, along with the rest of the Order, keeping lookout. And the kids and I are going to be riding the train with the rest of the students in case something happens to go wrong." she answered, giving him a rundown of what Dumbledore had told her earlier that morning.

"And Snape?"

"Called away." she grimaced, knowing Remus would understand what she meant.

"Death Eaters?"

"Unfortunately." she murmured, absently rubbing her hand along her waist where her own mark was still tingling slightly.

"Alright?" Remus asked, the concern evident in his tone.

"Fine." she said, waving it off. "Nothing to worry about, Remus." The werewolf looked a bit unsure, but let the subject drop.

"I'm going to wait by the entrance from King's Cross." he said after a moment. "Best to keep all bases covered." Sable nodded and watched as he walked towards the pillar where the students and parents were starting to come out of more quickly.

The Order had received word from Snape that there could possibly be an attack on the train at some point before it got to Hogwarts, and the information that she and Remus had gathered on their own small missions during the weeks before had backed that rumor.

The Ministry had lost all control of the dementors some days ago, leaving Azkaban prison unguarded save for a few nerve-wrecked Aurors who were spread too thin as it was. As far as she knew, the dementors were gathering somewhere in Dublin, near one of Lucius Malfoy's many holdings. Luckily, none of the Death Eaters that had been caught in the Department of Mysteries had escaped.

She and Remus had spent three days doing more recon work for Dumbledore around Malfoy's manor in Dublin, and found that the remaining followers of Voldemort were planning on breaking their comrades out of Azkaban sometime soon. Unfortunately, no date had been set as far as they knew. And she had used her position on the International Confederation of Wizards to push a bit of legislation calling for more guards to be placed in Azkaban. Luckily, the newest Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, believed what Dumbledore had said, and quickly instituted more Aurors at the prison.

Their work had been helpful enough for Dumbledore to formulate some sort of plan should anything happen. And the wizened headmaster had admitted to having another mole in the middle of Voldemort's ranks, but had refused to comment on who it was. Sable had even broken down and asked Snape who the other informant was supposed to be, but he had claimed that he didn't know.

_'Let me slip the greasy git some truth serum, and we'll see if he doesn't spill his dirty little secret.'_ she thought sourly.

Her interaction with the Hogwarts Potions Master had been few and far between, which didn't hurt her feelings any. She had forced herself to keep from hexing the bat into the next dimension enough times, and now she just simply ignored him as best she could. Snape had seemed colder than normal to her, though, especially after she and Remus had returned from the recon work. But, as normal, he just glared and sneered, so she ignored him.

_'Stupid little prick needs to get the stick unstuck from his ass and deflate that ego of his a bit before he suffocates somebody with it.'_ she though angrily as she milled through the growing crowd of people.

Of course, her friendship with Remus was quickly going back to that of what it had been when they were students at Hogwarts. They could pick at each other, and play around. And her long dormant feelings for the werewolf were starting to resurface again, despite her best attempt to keep them buried. Her children had noticed the change in her demeanor, and she was still getting teased by Ailric about Remus. Sabine had remained silent about her opinion, but the younger woman's sly smile had been enough of a give-away for Sable to realize that her daughter did not mind her mother's new friend. Gabe seemed a little put out, and that was the only problem.

Sable knew that Ailric had talked to his father, and she had no doubt in her mind that Sabine had already cornered Remus and laid down the laws concerning her; but Gabe's reservations about Remus had her worried. Of course, when Remus had told her that Gabe had spoken with him concerning his intentions towards their mother, Sable had breathed a small sigh of relief.

_'I just wish the greasy bat would talk to Gabe!'_ she thought as she milled around in the crowd. _'Even if the stupid bastard doesn't want to talk to me, the least he could do would be attempt to talk to Gabe. Those two have more in common than he may realize.'_

By now, he platform was filled to the brim with students and their parents by now, and Sable was beginning to think that the train to Hogwarts would get off without any problems. But when the screechingof half a dozen teenage girl's screams came from one of the train's compartments, things went downhill in a hurry.

With reflexes honed in years of Auror training, coupled with her own unnatural composition, Sable sprinted over in time to see five or six young girls fleeing from the car, each one paler than a ghost and in tears. More shrills of fear suddenly filled the air, and Sable could see that more and more of the students were scrambling out of the cars and back onto the platform.

She turned back to look for the other Order members, but found them already coming towards the train, wands drawn and battle ready expressions on their faces. She rushed into the compartment, wand drawn, searching for the reason behind the student's hysterical racket.

She was halfway down the car when she saw a sight that made her blood curdle. A young boy, more than likely a first year, was lying down in the corner of the compartment curled into a fetal position, and sobbing his eyes out. Standing in front of him was a large, snarling dog. Moving on instinct, Sable shot a hex at the dog, only to have it turn around and face her, snarling and growling.

"Get out!" she called to the boy, who seemed to be rooted where he was, unwilling to move. But her attention was quickly brought back to the dog in front of her when she heard a sound that was reminiscent of a cracking whip.

Then, before her eyes, she could see Sabine lying on the floor of the car, bloody and beaten, crying out for some invisible attacker to leave her alone.

Sable shook her head, blinking to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Another crack was heard, and she felt her stomach churn at the sight of Ailric on the ground where Sabine had been, blood gushing from his mouth. Another crack, and she could see Gabe lying there, his eyes opened in an expression of utter fear, dead.

_'A boggart.' _she realized. _'It's just a boggart. It's not real.'_ Sable stilled herself as the sounds of utter chaos crescendoed outside the compartment, more screams could be heard, right along with the adults cries of jinxes and hexes. Another crack was heard, and Sable looked back to the boggart, seeing that it had taken on Remus' form. The boggart Remus had his wand pointed at her, and was mouthing some sort of spell that she could not understand.

She raised her own wand to the spectre of Remus and called out the spell to stop the boggart.

"Riddikulus!" she cried, watching as the boggart form of her friend suddenly started spitting up slugs. She used another quick spell, and opened the overhead compartment above the seats, sending the boggart flying into it. With a quick flick of her wrist, the door was shut and locked, and she was at the little boy's side.

"Hey there." she said. "Alright?" The boy looked up at her with wide brown eyes and then looked around the room, apparently still searching for the creature that had cornered him.

"Where…where'd it go?" he asked, looking from one side of the compartment to the other. "The…the dog?"

"He's gone." she said brusquely, pulling him up none to gently. "But I need you to stay right here, okay?"

"Is there more out there?" he asked. Sable just shook her head and headed towards the entrance of the door, leaving the little boy to hide in one of the compartments of the car.

As soon as she stepped back out onto the platform, Sable found herself face to face with three or four dozen students that were huddled next to the train, cringing and crying out.

"Get into this car!" she ordered them. They moved blindly, not questioning her orders, and disappeared from sight. She spotted Remus and Tonks battling with half a dozen or more boggarts not too far away. And she saw a number of Order members, as well as her own children, step out of the cars and motion for the students to get in.

"Someone's put boggarts in the cars." Gabe hissed to her when he passed. "But that's not the biggest of our worries."

"What's going on?" she demanded, only to feel a piercing cold flood her body. She spun around, seeing a number of black hooded figures gliding from different points along the platform.

"Dementors." Gabe said angrily.

"Get the students in the cars!" she called out, running madly to the closest dementor that was about to start sucking off a group of students. "Get them in and don't let them out!" Her son moved without question, moved towards a group of older students who were running towards him.

Sable's mind swam as she saw the chaos around her. Dementors were attacking all over the place. The boggarts were still changing and scaring the adults and students alike. She headed over to where Tonks and Remus were still fighting with the boggarts, and with a wave of her wand, and an incantation, the boggarts were gone in whisps of smoke.

"Mikayla?" Tonks asked, catching her breath.

"Get the students onto the train." she said ordered. "The boggarts have been taken care of." Tonks paid her no heed, and immediately went to work, sending out a silvery-white patronus in the shape of a monkey towards a dementor that was hovering over a group of people.

"Who could have done this?" Remus asked as they both ran towards where Arthur and Bill Weasley were holding back the dementors with their own spells. "Why didn't we hear about this?"

"I'll give you three guesses," Sable grit out. "And the first two don't count. Although I bet it has something to do with that greasy bastard Snape!"

* * *

Harry was not sure exactly what to do when he felt the familiar pulling cold of the dementors, but he knew that they all were in big trouble when he caught a glimpse of black cloaks swarming above them. 

He heard Dr. Lee and Remus yell out to get the students onto the train, and he moved to push, pull, and shove the people in his way towards the scarlet engine.

All around him, there were sparks flying from hexes and jinxes. He saw one patronus after another circling around students in order to drive the dementors off. He finally caught sight of Hermione shielding three different dementors off of a few of their classmates while Ron practically threw them into a half empty train car.

The silvery otter that danced in front of Hermione kept the soul-sucking creatures at bay and away from the defenseless Hogwarts students. Another silver creature streaked by him, and Harry barely noticed that it was a miniature version of some sort of dragon before Ms. Meadows commanded it to head towards a grouping of black cloaked dementors hanging around the outside of the platform.

Harry pulled his own wand, casting the patronus charm and sending the silvery stag towards a dementor that was floating towards Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan.

"Get onto the train!" Harry yelled when the boys noticed what he had just done. Seamus immediately took off for the train, but Dean shook his head and headed straight towards a pillar that was nearby. Harry took off after him, ordering the silvery stag to clear the way of any oncoming attackers.

"What are you doing?" Harry demanded when he caught up with Dean.

"Ginny!" the boy said, pointing to where Ginny and Luna Lovegood were cowering beside Neville Longbottom behind one of the pillars. "They've cornered her and Neville!"

Harry looked over, and felt his blood boil when he saw the dementor take a swipe at Ginny, who was the nearest. The red-headed girl was shivering and holding onto Luna, who looked even paler than normal. With a quick flick of his wand, the stag bounded over, Dean and Harry right behind it.

The dementor was rammed right in it's back by the misty patronus, and immediately took to the air in an attempt to get away from it's attacker. Harry instinctively reached out and pulled Ginny towards him, checking for any damages.

"Alright?" he asked quickly, helping her to her feet while Luna and Neville were checked over by Dean.

"Cold..." Ginny muttered, shivering uncontrollably.

"It's okay, now." Harry said, quickly handing her over to Dean. "I'll clear you a path, just them to the train!" Dean nodded and waited until Harry's patronus had cleared a straight shot to the train before literally dragging the other three students along with him.

Harry felt a hand grip his shoulder and he spun around to find a very distraught looking Michael Corner bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"What.."

"It's Cho." he wheezed. "Caught….students…" Harry looked back where he had assumed the Ravenclaw boy had come from, and sure enough, saw that Cho was barely holding control over the silver swan patronus that she had conjured.

"Get to the train." Harry muttered. "I'll get her." But before either boy could move six inches, another patronus attacked the dementor that was trying to make Cho it's next meal.

"Potter! Get to the train!" came Dr. Lee's voice from the other side. "I'll get your friend!" Harry nodded dumbly and watched as the large silver wolf under Dr. Lee's command snarled and growled at the dementor until it flew off, mixing in with the large number of its kind that were swarming above their heads.

"Who is that?" Michael asked, looking at Dr. Lee.

"That's…" Harry began, only to hear the woman's voice yell at him again.

"Do I need to spell it out, Potter! Get a move on!" she called. "Ron and Hermione need some help calming down your classmates! And Ginny's going spastic!" That was all Harry needed to hear. He latched onto Michael's robes and bodily dragged him through the thinning crowd towards the train, pushing his way through the horde of adults remaining on the platform and into the nearest car. He let go of Michael, who turned to help Dr. Lee pull Cho into the car, and then headed back to where he and the others had stored their belongings.

* * *

It took another couple of minutes before all the dementors and boggarts that had invaded the platform were cleared out. Tonks, Moody, Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, and Arthur Weasley quickly spread out along the platform, checking for any signs of more interlopers, while Remus and Danae helped her check over the security parameters around the platform. After a quick, inconspicuous meeting between the Order members that were present, Sable and her age-enhanced children boarded the train. 

Remus had been given the task of getting in touch with Dumbledore and explaining what had happened. Since Danae was a higher level Unspeakable at the Ministry, she immediately took off to go see if she could find out what had happened. Many of the parents who had been there during the attack were reluctant to let their children go, and many of them pulled their sons and daughters off of the train and left the platform, despite the Order member's pleas to let them go. Remus and the others knew that the students would be safe once they were Hogwarts bound, but there were those who refused to let their children out of their sight after such an attack.

It was near noon by the time they were pulling out of Platform 9 ¾, and Sable immediately set off to check up on each and every one of the students on board. She commandeered the trolley lady's cart of chocolate goodies, and told Gabe and Sabine to hand them out as they went along since the chocolate would help calm down the ones who had been attacked by the dementors.

Ailric had taken a position up in the front of the train with the conductor to watch for anymore trouble that may have shown it's head during their trip, and Sable grabbed a handful of Chocolate Frogs before heading to where she had seen Harry and his friends go.

Fortunately for her, she seemed to have found their compartment right about the time Draco Malfoy and his goons had. She could see that Malfoy was standing in the doorway of the train while the two larger boys stood behind him in the hallway, and she could also see the dark head of Blaise Zabini coming down the opposite way, a grim look on his face.

Ron's raised voice came from inside the compartment, right along with a comment from Hermione that she never thought the girl would say.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." she said, tapping the biggest boy's shoulder, and quickly defusing the situation when Malfoy turned around to see who had interrupted his tormenting of the Gryffindors. "Is there a problem, Mr. Malfoy?"

The blonde quickly lost the sneer, replacing it with the best look of utter innocence he could muster…which was not convincing to say the least.

"Dr. Lee." he said, apparently surprised to see her standing there since the professors usually did not ride the train to Hogwarts.

"Is everything alright? I was checking the compartments to make sure that you and your classmates were unharmed." she said calmly. "No one here was hurt?"

"No ma'am." Blaise spoke up. "We're all fine."

"Glad to hear it." she said, pulling out a half dozen Chocolate Frogs and handing them to the dark haired boy with a small smile. "Now, why don't you four go find yourselves a compartment? I know you want to visit with your friends, but I ask you to remain in your cars for a few more minutes until we check everyone over. And eat those frogs. It will help."

"Of course, professor." Draco said, the forced politeness more than obvious in his voice. He motioned for the two big goons behind him to follow, and the four Slytherins stalked back down the hallway, disappearing into a compartment a ways down.

Sable stepped into the compartment, finding Ron and Hermione, along with Luna, Neville, Harry and Ginny.

"Alright?" she asked, taking a quick look over them, only to see that Ginny was pale and still shaking violently. Sable pulled out some more chocolate and quickly passed it out amongst them, then motioned for Luna to move aside so that she could check Ginny over.

"Ms. Weasley?"

"Yes, professor?" she answered, her teeth chattering and clicking together as she pulled what looked to be a set of robes tighter around her.

"Eat this. You'll feel better." Ginny took the piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth. A few tense moments later, the shivers stopped and she began to slowly regain some color in her face. "That's a bit better, now isn't it?"

"Yes." Ginny answered, leaning back onto the seat and closing her eyes. "Thank you, professor."

"Professor?" Neville asked, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Are you our new Defense teacher?"

"Indeed, I am." Sable said, smiling at the boy kindly. "I'm Mikayla Lee. And you are?"

"Neville Longbottom." the chubby boy answered. "And this is Luna Lovegood."

"Pleasure to meet you both." Sable answered, nodding in the Ravenclaw's direction. "Was anyone else hurt?"

"We're fine." Ron answered. The red head had apparently already got into his own personal stash of chocolate from his trunk if the mounds of candy wrappers at his feet were any indication.

"Is everyone else alright?" Hermione asked.

"We're checking the rest of the compartments as we speak." Dr. Lee said. "I know as Prefects, you and Ron normally meet in the first car, but not now. The Prefects are to stay in their compartments until we reach Hogwarts." Hermione nodded and sat back, still unsettled by what had happened on the platform. "And Harry?"

"Yes?"

"In light of what has happened, I want you to set up your first D.A. meeting for Wednesday evening after class." she said solemnly. "After what I just saw, there are a number of things I want to check concerning the students. Can you do that?"

"I'll get on it when we get to school." Harry said, nodding.

"Do you have anymore chocolate?" came Luna's dreamy voice. "I don't feel so well."

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Lovegood. I gave Ms. Weasley the last I had." Sable said. "Do the rest of you have any?"

"I do." Harry said, reaching under his seat to pull his trunk out. He lifted the lid and pulled another dozen chocolate frogs out before handing Luna three of them. Sable was about to leave the compartment when she noticed something odd about a small package in Harry's trunk. She walked over and peered down, causing Harry to frown slightly.

"Something wrong?" he asked when she reached down to pick up a shirt that had something wrapped up in it.

"What is this, Harry?" she asked, wanting permission before she unwrapped it.

"The mirror." he said quietly. Sable unwrapped the shirt and held the small pane of glass in her hands.

It was pulsing.

"It's…glowing." Hermione said, looking over Dr. Lee's shoulder. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Sable wrapped her hand around the glass, feeling the pulsing of magic radiating off of it in waves. She had never known of a two-way mirror to act like this before, and it had her curious. A few moments later the pulsing faded, and she wrapped it back up in his shirt.

"Harry, has it ever done that before?" she asked. He took the wrapped mirror and placed it in his trunk, then shut it and pushed it under the seat.

"It's been doing that a lot lately." Harry said. "Ever since you fixed it for me."

"When was the first time it started glowing?" she asked.

"The night that Remus came back." Harry said, being purposely vague because of Neville and Luna's presence. "When he was sick. And when Ginny had that bad dream."

"Any other time?"

"A few days after my birthday." he answered, shrugging. "It's been happening now and then. What's it mean, professor?"

"Well, Mr. Potter, I'm not exactly sure." she admitted. "But if it happens again, come and find me. Something's off with that mirror. It's not supposed to do that." Harry simply nodded, and Sable turned back towards the entrance. "Get some rest, you six. I have a feeling things are about to get a bit…awry."

* * *

_'Awry doesn't even begin to describe this.' _Harry thought as they walked in and took their places at Gryffindor House table for the start of term feast. The attack on Platform 9 ¾ was the topic of conversation, as was expected. But the strained tenseness that pervaded the air of the Great Hall had not only the students, but the teachers on edge as well. 

However, some of the older Slytherin students, namely Draco Malfoy and his cronies, seemed completely nonplussed about the whole ordeal. Sniggers arose every now and then, and Harry could have sworn he heard Malfoy's condescending laugh emanate from deep within the viper pit more than once.

When McGonagall entered with the gaggle of timid first years to begin the sorting, most of the noise settled down. Harry noticed that there seemed to be even fewer first years than normal this year, and he mentioned it to Ron.

"Dad told us that there were a bunch of parents who have put off sending their kids to school because of You-Know-Who coming back." the red head whispered.

"But they don't understand that Hogwarts is safer than any other place." Hermione pointed out, shrugging. The rest of their conversation was halted when the last new student was sorted, and Dumbledore rose to welcome them back.

Harry noticed that the wizened old wizard seemed to have aged greatly over the course of the summer. The lines on his face was more pronounced. And the customary twinkle that adorned his blue eyes behind the half moon spectacles was absent. He seemed to be hunched over as he stood. It was almost like his age was slowly catching up with him.

"Welcome back, students." Dumbledore addressed cheerfully. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Now, before we dig into this wonderful feast, there are a few things I need to pass on to you. Firstly, I would like to introduce to you, a number of new additions to our staff this year. As it seems that we have lately been keeping our dear Madame Pomfrey busier than usual, Ms. Sabine Meadows will be assisting our dear school nurse in the infirmary." Harry looked towards the end of the table where the school nurse was sitting. Madame Pomfrey motioned for Ms. Meadows to stand. And the auburn haired woman did so, with a little flush on her cheeks. She nodded in response to the polite applause, and then sat back down.

"Mr. Gabe Tartavu will be handling the Care of Magical Creatures class for an indefinite period of time until our own Hagrid returns from some personal business." Dumbledore said, nodding to where Gabe was sitting. The young wizard stood and nodded, then returned to his seat.

"And Mr. Ailric Robbins will be positioned as an assistant to our own Professor Flitwick, and will be serving this year as an internship in order to receive his teaching license." Dumbledore said. The blonde headed young man stood, grinned, and waved at the sea of students before sitting back down next to professor Flitwick.

"And the coveted position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be filled by none other than Dr. Mikayla Lee, Auror and Potions Mistress." Dumbledore concluded. Harry saw Dr. Lee stand up and smile at the students, then sit back down. Harry couldn't tell if anyone else noticed, but Dr. Lee seemed a bit more on edge that he'd seen her all day. Dumbledore continued on, saying something about the Forbidden Forest, but Harry wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Instead, he was looking at Snape, who seemed even more furious than normal.

"…and without further ado, let's eat!" Dumbledore exclaimed, raising his hands to summon the mounds and mounds of food onto the four House tables.

* * *

After dinner was over with, and she saw the Heads and Prefects lead their housemates out of the Great Hall, Sable bade her new colleagues goodnight and slipped down the eerily familiar passages of Hogwarts school until she found the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. 

It was still the same as she remembered. Suit after suit of antiquated armor lined the wide hallway, with rich tapestries hanging behind them. Torches were interspaced between, just a little higher than the head of the armor, giving off a soft light. She walked down the corridor, passing a few broom closets, and coming to stop in front of one particular set of armor, halfway down the hall. Her hand reached out to touch the cool, metallic surface. She remembered quite vividly the last time she had stood in the very same place.

It had been that day of what would have been her graduation from Hogwarts. She'd slipped into the castle with Dumbledore's help, and set up the spells and other things that had caused Remus to see her fake ghost when he'd entered in later that evening.

"It's still there, you know." came a kindly voice that startled Sable out of her revere. She spun around, only to see Dumbledore a few feet from her, his hands clasped behind his back thoughtfully.

"Dumbledore, sir."

"Your old dormitory. It is still there." he said, nodding at the armor that served as the doorway. "Although I dare say their was a bit of dust on everything. I think the house elves did a satisfactory job of cleaning it up, though."

"Has anyone else used this room since I left?" she asked.

"No. When Mr. Lupin left that evening, it has been sealed off ever since."

"I though as much." she said. There was a few pregnant moments of silence before Dumbledore spoke again. And Sable quickly wished that the Headmaster could not so easily read emotions when his words clicked in her mind.

"Do not doubt him, my dear."

"It's not him I'm doubting right now, Headmaster." she answered stiffly.

"Yourself, then?"

"All the time, Albus. All the time." she answered with a sigh.

"It is the past, Ms. Robbins. You can not change what has been, only what will be."

"Is that your philosophical way of telling me to get my act together and quit acting like a scared little girl?" she asked demurely.

"However you may interpret it, my child."

"Is the password the same?" she finally asked.

"Yes." the man beside her answered. "I will leave you to your devices, professor. As I am sure you have some things to get ready for your classes in the morning. Good evening."

"Good night, Albus." she said, watching until the wizard disappeared around the corner at the end of the hallway. Sable took a deep breath and turned back to the suit of armor that guarded the entrance to her old dormitory.

"Ranula." she muttered. The metal armor creaked loudly, then slowly slid away from the wall. Sable squeezed behind it, pulling the thick red and green tapestry away from the wall to show a doorway that had been cut into the stone wall. She whispered a spell to unlock the door, and stepped into the small passageway that led to her old lab.

When she stepped into her old rooms, she was shocked to find that everything was indeed right where she had left it. Cauldrons were still sitting on tables, and the cabinets where she had kept her ingredients were still locked up tight. The set of knives she had left sitting on a table were still on the cutting board, and her racks of bottles and flasks were filed along the shelves.

It was as though she had not been gone for nearly two decades.

She stepped through the door opposite the entrance and found a very familiar four posted bed, right along with an armoire, a desk and a few more inconspicuous pieces of furniture that she did not remember being there when she had left.

_'Probably the work of the house elves.' _she thought, her eyes scanning the entire room. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large portrait of the witch Agrippa that hung above the head of the bed. She knew it was the entrance to a passageway that branched off into each of the four House Common Rooms and the kitchens, and wondered if Harry and his friends had managed to find it yet.

Remus had told her that Harry somehow managed to get his hands on the Marauder's Map before or during his third year. And Sable had no doubt that the map, along with James' invisibility cloak, had pulled the younger Potter out of the Tower after hours.

She looked over at a small clock that was hanging on the wall as it struck nine times. Sable just smiled simply and folded her hands over her chest, looking around one more time. Albus had been correct about getting some more work done before classes in the morning. And she knew standing around in her old dormitory was not going to get any of it done.

She left the hidden rooms, and walked back out into the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway, then made her way to the teacher's quarters in the western section of the castle, knowing that the next day was probably going to be one of the most interesting, if not frustrating, days of her life.

* * *

**A/N** - Hey everyone. What's going on? Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Now that they're finally back at Hogwarts, things will be going rather quickly. So, hang on to your hats!

**Until next time,**

**A.A.**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Disclaimer_** _- It's not mine. Never was. I own Sable and her offspring, along with any other character in here that is not copyrighted by J.K. Rowling or her publishers. _

**NOTICE: With the arrival of the sixth book, I am aware that this story is now more than likely an AU (alternate universe). However, I have not read The Halfblood Prince yet, and more than likely will not, at least until I finish this story. **

I have been told by one of my friends that a number of my suspicions concerning the sixth book was correct, and that even a few of the ideas I planned on using later in this story are eerily similar to what happens in book six.

So please, please, don't send me a million emails telling me that this story is not parallel to the newest book. I already know it's not. And I intend to continue writing it as it is, using my own ideas that were formulated months and months ago.

With that said, please enjoy the newest chapter.

* * *

**Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts**

**Chapter 13**

**The Beginning of the End**

* * *

There was a storm raging outside when Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. They quickly spotted Professor Lee speaking quite animatedly with little Professor Flitwick. She caught sight of them, excused herself from the Charms teachers presence, and walked over to where the three Gryffindors were standing. 

"Good morning, children." she said pleasantly, smiling slightly at them. "Sleep well?"

"Okay." Ron said, stifling a loud yawn.

"Well enough." Harry said.

"I am sorry to catch you before you've managed to get some breakfast, Harry." Dr. Lee said. "But I was wondering if you could move your D.A. meeting up to Thursday evening after classes. I realize it is a bit last minute, but something has come up."

"Sure." he said. "Is it something serious?"

"Just some work for the Order." she said quietly. "Headmaster Dumbledore has some things for Remus and I to work on tomorrow night."

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked. "No one's hurt again, are they?"

"Of course not, Mrs. Granger." Professor Lee said, handing them three pieces of parchment. "Now, here are your schedules for the year. Go on and get something to eat. You've only got a half hour before your first class." The three Gryffindors nodded and pulled their schedules out, checking them over.

"I've got Care of Magical Creatures after lunch." Ron said. "What about you two?"

"Same here. Hermione?"

"I am in there as well." she said, peering at Ron's schedule. "You're not taking Potions?"

"You are?" Ron asked incredulously. Hermione nodded and took her seat. "Harry is as well, aren't you Harry?"

"Yeah." he grimaced. "Professor McGonagall said that in order to become an Auror, I need to take it."

"Bloody starkers, both of you." Ron mumbled, piling eggs onto his plate. "Snape is going to be spastic."

"Well that's nothing new. You know he favors his own House over all the others, especially Gryffindor." Hermione countered. "I'm more curious about the work Professor Lee and Remus are working on, than I am about Snape's reaction to seeing Harry and I in his N.E.W.T. level potions class."

"Do you think it is anything serious?" Ron asked as they took their seats at Gryffindor table. "I mean, we just got to school. What could possibly be going wrong now?"

"It's Hogwarts." Harry said dryly, spearing a piece of toast. "Do I need to say anything else?"

* * *

Breakfast was over quickly enough, and the trio was forced to split up for their first class. Harry and Hermione headed off to the dungeons for Snape's potions class, and Ron went to Muggle Studies. And just as Hermione had predicted, Snape was none to pleased to see three of his least favorite Gryffindors sitting side by side in his N.E.W.T. class that morning. But more surprisingly was the fact that Neville Longbottom was also in the class, and wound up taking up the last seat at their table. 

"It amazes me that either of you managed to scrape good enough marks on your O.W.L. examinations to be here." Snape said condescendingly, glaring intermittently at Neville and Harry. Neville still seemed to quiver at the glare their teacher gave, but Harry just stared him back, refusing to give any leeway with him. Eventually, the glaring contest between teacher and student was cut when someone in the classroom cleared their throat.

Snape immediately stalked to the front of the classroom, black robes billowing threateningly. With a wave of his wand, the instructions for the day's lesson covered the board. "The ingredients you need are present in your basic potions kit, and the ones that are not can be obtained from me at the appropriate time. Get to work."

Harry, Hermione, and Neville quickly set up their cauldrons and got to work.

"How much you want to bet Dumbledore had a hand in getting us all in here?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Hermione said. "But, why are you in here, Neville? I didn't think you'd take another class under Professor Snape if you didn't have to."

"I wouldn't, but I want to be a Herbology researcher after Hogwarts." Neville said quietly, glancing nervously at Snape as he walked among the tables, critiquing and criticizing student's work. "And Professor McGonagall said I had to take this class since researchers often work with potions masters to develop new uses for their plants. But I don't think Professor Snape wanted me in here."

"We'll help you out, Neville." Hermione said reassuringly, patting him on the back. "Don't worry about…."

"Mrs. Granger." Snape called out, cutting the girl off.

"Yes, sir?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.

"Would you care to share your conversation with Mr. Longbottom with the class?" he asked. Hermione flushed and looked down at her cauldron, apparently chastised.

"No, sir. Sorry, sir." she said.

"Get to work." he growled. "I will not allow slackers in my classroom. And I expect a viable sample of this potion by the end of class from everyone, especially you, Longbottom."

"Yes, sir." Neville said, turning his attention to his cauldron. Snape turned his back and walked over to were a pair of Ravenclaw students were working diligently cutting up some sassafras roots. "Crazy old bat." Neville muttered under his breath.

"What was that Mr. Longbottom?" Snape demanded, whirling around to pin the three Gryffindors with a cold stare.

"I said I didn't know you had a cat." Neville said innocently, pointing to the store room door where a cat had wandered in. Snape whirled around and quickly picked the cat up, throwing it outside the classroom door before resuming his stalking up and down the aisles.

"He's mad." Hermione mumbled.

"So what's new?" Harry asked. "He'll hate us for the entire year, no matter what we do right. Might as well get used to it."

* * *

Professor Lee was nowhere in sight when Harry and the rest of his year filed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom the later that day after lunch. They quickly took some seats near the front and pulled out their textbooks. 

"Wonder what's going to happen this year. Hermione said, scanning the room as more sixth years walked in.

"No telling." Ron supplied. "Harry?"

"I have no idea." he answered.

A few moments later, Dr. Lee walked into the room, a small smile on her face. The excited chattering of students quieted down, and she motioned for them to gather around her.

"Good morning, students." she said. "And welcome to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of this term. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Dr. Mikayla Lee." She waved her wand, and a piece of parchment appeared. "Now, when I call your name, please answer."

After going through the roll, Dr. Lee vanished the parchment and began the lesson.

"Now, I am aware of the situation with Professor Umbridge from your last year." she said sternly. "And I am going to tell you now that my teaching methods are polar opposite of what she did. Where as Professor Umbridge relied more on theory and memorization, I will help you on your focus and actual execution of the spells you learn. Knowledge is power, as you have so often heard, I am sure. However, if you do not know how to wield the knowledge at your disposal, then it is useless. Any questions so far?"

"Will we have homework?" asked one of the Slytherins in the back.

"Yes, you will." Dr. Lee said. A few groans were heard, and she smiled serenely. "But, I am going to also tell you now, that it will be focused mainly on execution of your spells and defenses. Actual bookwork will be rare, with the exception of an essay I will set next week."

"What is the topic about?" someone else asked.

"Legends."

"Excuse me?" Draco asked. "Legends? Of what?"

"What else, Mr. Malfoy?" she questioned. "Hogwarts. You will each be required to research teacher approved topics of interest pertaining to the school's history, its founders, or anything else connected with Hogwarts."

"When will it be due?" Hermione asked.

"The last week in November." Dr. Lee said. "But that is enough about that for now. I will give you the rest of the details during our next class. Today, I want to go over a few things that we will be covering this year. If you would kindly take out your books, I will give you the overview of what you can expect in this class up until Christmas break." After they opened their books, Dr. Lee perched easily on the edge of her desk.

"The first thing we will be doing during our next class is dueling." she said, watching them.

"Dueling?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, dueling." she nodded. "I need to assess each student's aptitude for basic defense techniques before beginning anything else. As I said, my teaching relies heavily on being able to execute the spells, not only rote memorization. However, in addition to learning practical skills, there are also a number of magical creatures that I will bring into class which you will have to write essays on."

Class continued on and Harry listened intently as Dr. Lee outlined the rough sketch of the curriculum up until Christmas. It seemed as though Dr. Lee had taken some lessons from Remus' book, and focused more on information that was relevant to the surrounding world, but was also fun to learn as well. Before he realized it, the last bell of the day was ringing.

"Try to brush up on your defensive spells before next class." Dr. Lee said as they all packed up their belongings and headed out of the classroom. "The further along you are, the more I will be able to teach you."

* * *

Sable was never so happy to see her last class over and done with for the day. 

She was currently headed towards the small village of Hogsmeade away from the castle. She had been told earlier that day by Dumbledore that she was to meet Remus at the Three Broomsticks in order to hash out a plan for the next reconnaissance mission they were to be sent on. Her stomach grumbled as she walked down the somewhat crowded streets, passing by witches and wizards doing some evening shopping.

She entered into the Three Broomsticks, and took seat in a booth. After giving her order to the patroness, she sat back and waited for Remus to arrive. Thankfully, he didn't keep her waiting long. A few moments after her butterbeer arrived, the little bell above the pub door was set to ringing as Remus entered in, quickly spotting her and coming towards where she was sitting.

"Hey." she said, motioning him down into a small booth near the western corner of the pub. There were few people there at this time of night, but she still felt the need to sequester themselves away from any prying ears.

"Hey." Remus said, slipping into the booth. Sable motioned for the patroness of the pub, Madame Rosmerta over and waited for Remus to order something to drink before saying anything else.

"What's been going on? Dumbledore said you had new information." she said, taking a sip of the butterbeer in front of her.

"Narcissa Malfoy and Justus Flint have moved into 12 Grimmauld Place." he said with a frown. "They've started cleaning the place out."

"So what's the problem?" she asked. "From what you told me, the place needs a good cleaning."

"There are some things left in there that are vital to the Order." Remus said. "Namely a few old tomes that were in the Black family's possession for generations. Dumbledore seems to think that one of them may be invaluable in the coming war."

"What's in it that's so important?" Sable asked.

"One of the books hold some very well kept information about one of the Black ancestors. We were in the process of translating it from old Latin when Sirius….." Remus fell off then, leaving the sentence half finished.

"What's so important about this ancestor?" she asked.

"His name was Draven Black, and he was a amateur researcher in Charms and Potions." Remus said, pulling a piece of parchment from his tattered robes and spreading what looked to be a large family tree out before her. "He supposedly found a counter curse against the Unforgivables, but the research was never published."

"According to the parchment, this Draven guy is possibly a direct descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw." Sable said thoughtfully, peering down at the parchment. "He'd be clever enough to find something like that with Ravenclaw's influence in him. Do we have any proof that his work is legitimate?"

"No, and to make matters even worse, St. Mungo's record's show that Draven Black was admitted to the mental ward for the last four years of his life." Remus said.

"He was a psyche case?" she asked.

"Apparently so. I asked Sirius about it not long before he…disappeared." Remus said. "He said he'd never heard of the guy before. Of course given his relationship with his family, it's no wonder he doesn't recognize the name."

"You know the Zabini's are tied into Ravenclaw's bloodline as well." Sable said, almost as an after thought. "Maybe one of them would offer up some information."

"I find it odd that two prominent wizarding families are both tied to the one Founder of Hogwarts who never married." Remus said.

"You don't have to marry to have children." Sable said carelessly, shrugging as she turned the parchment a little closer towards her. "Merlin knows how many grandchildren I'm going to wind up with once my three start pairing off. I'm honestly scared to see any child that Gabe may bring me. Let alone Ailric, or Merlin forbid, Sabine."

"If you're as good a grandmother as you are a mother, then I don't see where there would be a problem." Remus said quietly. Sable looked up at the werewolf when he grew increasingly quiet.

"Remus?" she asked, trying to get his attention. The man across her refused to say anything, only held his head off to the side as if he was ashamed of what he had said. "Remus, talk to me. What's wrong? Was it something I said?"

"No. It's nothing." he said, shaking his head. "How'd the kids like their first day teaching?" Sabine frowned at the quick change of subject, but let it slide.

"I haven't had a chance to speak with them yet." she said. "But I did look in on Gabe's Care of Magical Creatures class. He seemed to be doing well enough." Remus nodded and finished off his butterbeer, apparently contemplating her words carefully.

"What about Ailric?" he asked.

"If the third year's chatter wasn't proof enough of their enjoyment of his lecture in Professor Flitwick's class, I don't know what is." she said, smiling. "And I want to know who told Ailric how to make inanimate objects throw insults around like a group of hyperactive jarveys." Remus just grinned and shook his head.

"You found me out." he said. "How'd you know?"

"Because I never taught him that one, and I remember you and James using a similar charm to make the Slytherin's Quidditch team brooms yell at them when we were in school." she said.

"I couldn't help it." he said. "It was either that, or tell him how we enchanted the Marauder's Map. And that information is top secret."

"You never did tell me how you three made that map work." Sable said thoughtfully.

"Like I said, top secret." Remus replied sagely.

"Top secret my behind." she said, rising from the booth. "Want to go for a walk? I've been sitting down at a desk all day." Remus nodded and threw a few knuts on the table to cover his drink before walking with Sable out of the pub. Once they were in the streets, she turned the conversation back to the recon work they were going to do.

"So how do we plan on getting these books out of Grimmauld place?" she asked. "You said yourself that there are all kinds of wards and protection spells in place around the house."

"We're going to get someone in the Ministry to '_accidentally_' let the wards go down for a few hours Thursday night." he said. "Since the Ministry has to approve any longstanding protection barriers, someone can overlook them down for a while."

"What about Flint and Narcissa Malfoy?" she asked. "You said they were cleaning the place out. Aren't they going to be there?"

"There is a Ministry gathering that evening that both of them will be at." Remus said. "There won't be anyone in the house for the evening."

"What about that house elf, Kreacher?" Sable asked.

"Word has it that he was relocated to Malfoy Manor." Remus said.

"That's helpful." she said, leaning onto a broken fence post they had stopped by. "So we just have to go in, get the books, and get out? Seems simple enough."

"We'll see." he said absently. "This is the Black family. Nothing is ever simple about them." They fell into a comfortable silence, both looking out over the small knoll that led out towards the Shrieking Shack. Sable caught Remus fidgeting uneasily with a small stick he had picked up. There was a slight frown on his face, and his eyes were drawn down into a sharp 'v'.

"You okay, Remus?" Sable asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You've been a bit off since we met in the Three Broomsticks."

"Just thinking." he said hurriedly.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"A number of things, actually." he admitted.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." he answered, taking her hand gently in his own. "Two things, actually."

"Remus?"

"Promise me something, Sable." he said. "I want you to promise me that you'll be careful around Snape while you're at Hogwarts."

"Snape?" she asked, obviously confused at his request. "Considering he's not exactly my most favorite person to have around for tea and crumpets, I don't think that's going to be problem." Remus seemed to pull back a little, letting her hand go. Sable blinked a few times and tamped down the urge to scratch her head in utter confusion. "Remus, what's all this about? I know you don't like Snape, nor do I, but why…."

"It's a gut feeling, is all." Remus said dismissively. "With everything that's been going on lately, all the killings and attacks, I just want you and the kids to be safe. I don't trust him."

"Dumbledore trusts him." Sable said soothingly.

"Do you?"

"Well…..I…" she said, searchingly. Should the truth be told, she trusted the greasy bastard about as far as she could throw him. And that wasn't saying much.

"You don't either." Remus said finally, answering his own question.

"No, I don't." she admitted. "I'm not too sure there are that many that do, to be honest. But you already know that. What was the second thing you wanted to tell me about?"

"There's been word of a group of werewolves living in some caves near the coast." he said. "They've taken sides with Voldemort, and are slowly heading northward."

"That's not good." Sable said. "The reports from some of the Ministry Aurors are talking about more dementor attacks along the northern coastline. You don't think they're working together, do you?"

"I think they're about to try the other Death Eaters out of Azkaban." he said grimly. "Voldemort has promised them a better life, one without the persecution lycanthropy brings on once a person is infected."

"And how can I help this?" Sable said. "Sounds to me like all the damage has already been done."

"I'm leaving a few days for the western coast." Remus admitted. "Dumbledore wants me to try and infiltrate the camps, to find out what is going on, what the plans are. Can you make a few extra bottles of Wolfsbane potion?"

"I've got some in storage you can have." Sable said, nodding. "I keep a good bit made in case something comes up. What are you going to do? Surely you don't intend on trying to bribe them with it?"

"I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do." he grimaced. "But it should come in handy the closer the full moon gets." Sable nodded and turned back towards the dilapidated old house. She jerked a little when she felt Remus' arms wrap around her waist from behind, but slowly began to relax into them.

No words were spoken between them as the fireflies began to dance around the night sky. Sable knew Remus was lost in his own thoughts, and she was preoccupied herself with the newest bits of information. Lycans and dementors working together to cause a mass jailbreak of Death Eaters was not good news, no matter who you were. They remained in silence a few more minutes, just enjoying each other's company while they could. Somewhere behind them, a clock chimed ten o'clock, and Sable turned herself around while Remus was still holding her.

"I need to get back." she muttered, absently smoothing out some imaginary wrinkles in his old robes.

"It is getting late." he agreed. Sable nodded once again, but didn't move out of the circle of his arms. It just felt so natural to feel the slight pressure on her hips from his arms resting there. Almost like she was made to fit right where she was.

"Can we do this, Remus?" she asked suddenly, looking off to the side.

"Do what?"

"Can we make it through this fighting, this war?" she asked quietly. "So many have already needlessly died."

"We will make it through." he said reassuringly, dragging her into a fierce hug. "We will make it through here, and one day you'll have all the grandchildren you could possibly handle." Sable just smiled, remembering her quip in the Three Broomsticks about never having any grandchildren.

"No, I won't." she said, looking up at him.

"Of course you…" he said, only to have Sable hush him with a finger over his lips."

"No, I won't." she said, smiling. "They'll be yours as well. Our grandchildren, not only mine."

Remus just smiled and bent down to gently press a kiss on her lips. It was a fleeting, barely there contact, but she felt a jolt all the way down to her toes. Her hands fisted in the front of his robes, more to hold herself steady than anything else.

How could this man still make her feel like a teenager with one kiss, especially after all these years? And it wasn't even a proper kiss, either.

Unfortunately, there was a little voice in her head that kept telling her not to let it go any further, and to get away from Remus for her own sake and sanity. It kept telling her that her children would never accept him, and that they would turn against her for wanting to be with him. It told her that having a relationship was too complicated, and that she wasn't ready for the commitment it meant later on down the road.

She promptly told the little bugger to go jump off a cliff and land on some pointy rocks.

Sable laid her head on his chest, snuggling into the tattered robes as if they were a blanket of the finest silk. She could hear his heartbeat, and noticed that it was a bit faster than normal.

_'Good to know I'm not the only one who felt that.' _she thought, grinning like some idiot teenage girl who had just garnered her crush's attention for the first time.

"You're gonna get me in trouble if you keep doing that, Remus Lupin." she teased him. She tried to sound reproachful, but her stern tone failed miserably.

"No more trouble than you can't get yourself out of." he replied easily, hugging her tightly. Sable smiled and shook her head.

"Your faith in me is astounding."

"As is yours for me." he countered. "However, we will leave our philosophy in faith for another time. As you said, it is getting late, and you need to get back to the castle." Sable nodded, and they set off for the road that lead up to the castle arm in arm. Once they arrived at the gate, Remus bid her goodnight with another fleeting kiss, then ushered her through the stone gargoyle guardians watching over the entrance.

"Send me word before you leave for the coast." Sable said, turning to face him. "I'll send an owl with the potion first thing in the morning."

"I will see you again in a few days before I leave." Remus said. "Take care of yourself, and the kids."

"Will do." Sable said. Remus nodded, took one step further back away from the gate, and promptly disappeared, leaving her to walk up to the castle on her own.

Sable was not sure if her feet were even hitting the dewy grass as she walked along. She felt like her old self again, before the fire, before she'd been forced to assume the life of someone completely different than who she'd been before. Up until now, she and Remus had kept the physical aspects of their relationship to null. Just then had been the first time since their night by the riverbank that he'd kissed her.

And she felt just as happy and light hearted now as she had then.

Sable walked up the steps of the school, and was about to push one of the double doors open when a familiar voice popped out of nowhere, causing Sable to groan in annoyance at being caught.

"Well, someone had an interesting evening, now didn't they?" he asked coldly. "Not a very good impression you are setting for the younger students, now is it, Professor Lee?"

* * *

**_A/N _**- _Sorry for the long wait, but things have been hectic, and tropical storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis have kept me good and busy lately (i.e. no electricity or internet connection.). Hope you all enjoy the latest chapter. _

And as most of you will suspect, I am not going to have this story finished before the release of the sixth book.

_I have contemplated pulling this story off and trying to write it to coincide with what happens in the sixth book, but I have decided not to considering I already have this story outlined and ready to go. If I rewrote everything to coincide with the entire book, there's no telling what I'll have to overhaul and change. _

Until next time,

**A.A**.

_And please remember to review. I want to know what you think._


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer **- It's not mine. Never was. Harry Potter and any subsequent characters that have appeared in said series does not belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling. So don't sue me. You wouldn't get all that much even if you tried._

_

* * *

__Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 14_

_Within You_

_

* * *

_"Don't you have something to go blow up, Snape?" Sable asked coldly, giving the Potion's master little more than and cold glare as she walked passed him and into the school. "Maybe someone to go spy on?" 

"Fortunately for you, I am unoccupied at the current time." he said coldly.

"Fortunate like a snake's arse." she hissed, giving him a cold glare over her shoulder. "What do you want, Severus?"

"To speak with you."

"About what?"

"Some information that was procured while you were out with that ridiculous beast Lupin."

"And what, pray tell, is so important, that you felt the need to stay up and wait on me to return?" she demanded, knowing good and well that he easily could have just relayed the message to her in the morning. Of course, she realized that Severus was more of a bastard now that ever before, and would relish the opportunity to lord over the fact that he had information she didn't.

"I am not so sure you need to know it now." he said coldly, an arrogant smirk on his face as he looked down at her. "Your attitude is atrocious, Dr. Lee."

"Well aren't you the pot calling the kettle black." Sable hissed. "Unless you've got something informative to say, Severus, I bid you goodnight."

"Your patience has waned over the years, Robbins." Snape commented coldly, forcing her to turn around and face him.

"My patience with you was hardly ever existent, Snape. And as you can well attest to, yours was no better I was concerned." she pointed out. "Now what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Dumbledore has chosen the ones who will infiltrate 12 Grimmauld Place to retrieve the necessary items discussed in the last meeting." the Potion's master intoned. "You however, are to remain at the school. Tonks, Kingsley and Lovell have been given the assignment."

"Fine." she said shortly, wondering why exactly he had felt the need to wait up to tell her that. She had already known she wasn't going to the ex-headquarters since she was needed at the school. "Is that all?"

"At the moment."

"Then I bid you good evening, Severus." she said shortly, turning her back on him and heading down the hallway that would take her to the entrance of her lab and rooms. She could feel his dark eyes burning into her back as she walked off, but dared not turn back to return the glare. She had realized long ago that dealing with Snape was like handling a volatile potion. Just one wrong move, and the results were disastrous or even lethal. But when handled with care, Snape was relatively stable, even if he wasn't the most pleasant person to be around.

Sable just frowned and whispered the password that had the guardian suite of armor sliding out of the way, revealing the passage that led into her quarters. She'd deal with the itinerant jerk later, right now she needed to sleep more than she needed to worry about the personality traits of the one man who annoyed her to no end.

That could keep her up for the rest of the night and even longer, and she still wouldn't be any closer to figuring the git out that she had when she began.

* * *

It was two days later, right after she had dismissed her final class of the day, the sixth year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Defense students that she finally managed to get all three of her children into her classroom at the same time. The three pseudo-adults waited until all the teenagers had left the classroom before entering in, finding Sable shifting a stack of papers before putting them in her desk drawer. 

"You wanted to talk to us, mom?" Sabine asked, waiting until Gabe had closed the door and placed a silencing charm on the room.

"I've got some news." Sable said, standing from behind her desk and coming to set on the corner of it. Her three age enhanced children each pulled up a chair and waited patiently for her to begin. "Dumbledore received word from Hagrid this morning that he, Olympe, and Grawp were making some headway with a few of the giants to the north. Apparently they've been able to convince a large portion of them to join our side."

"And the others?" Ailric asked.

"Most of them are remaining neutral, actually." Sable said, relief obvious in her voice. "But there is a small group that have already aligned themselves with Voldemort. Hagrid and the others are working on trying to recruit more as we speak. So you're going to be staying on as Care of Magical Creatures professor until we hear otherwise, Gabe."

"Fine with me." the boy said simply.

"Any news on Remus yet, mom?" Sabine asked cautiously.

"He arrived along the northern coast earlier this morning, and made contact with the head person leading the pack of werewolves." Sable answered. "We won't be able to find out anything else since he can't contact us regularly…too obvious. But he did mention that there was some dissention in the ranks because of some rumors running rampant through the countryside of a brace of Death Eaters killing a woman who was a werewolf."

"Voldemort's promises aren't going to hold up if his lackey's are killing off potential allies." Ailric said, shaking his head. "Is Dumbledore still planning on trying to bribe his way in with Wolfsbane potion?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm working on a couple large batches just incase." Sable said.

"You've already got over a hundred doses in storage. How much more does he want?" Gabe asked.

"Remus' initial estimates were close to two hundred affected people, but he seems to think that there will be more meeting up with the group the farther north they travel." she said. "I'd rather have too much than not enough."

"Are you planning on heading up that way to join him?" Ailric asked.

"Not for a while. I'm sending the potion via owls, but that's all." she said. "I can't leave the school right now. Besides, Tonks, Kingsley and Danae are going into the old Order headquarters this evening and are supposed to bring back some books that Dumbledore wants me to take a look at."

"Potions books?" Gabe asked, his interest obviously piqued with the possibility.

"Possibly. We're not sure yet." she answered honestly. "It will probably wind up being the ramblings of an old man, but…."

"It's worth taking a look at." Sabine said, shrugging. "We need whatever we can get at this point."

"That's the truth if I ever heard it. How did Dumbledore…." Ailric began, only to be cut off when there was a succession of sharp knocks on the door. Sable frowned and walked over, opening the door to reveal Hermione Granger. The girl was carrying three rather large, leather bound books that looked like their combined weight would easily cause her to topple over with the slightest nudge.

"Something I can help you with, Ms. Granger?" Sable asked.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to go over some possible topics for the essay you set." she said, quickly taking notice of the occupants of the room. "If you have the time that is, Professor."

"Of course, Ms. Granger. Just give me a few more minutes to wrap up a discussion with my colleagues."

"I'll wait out here." the teenager said, readjusting the books in her arms and stepping back away from the door. Sable shut the door lightly and turned back to her children.

"Was that all you wanted to tell us?" Sabine asked, quickly reverting back to their act of being teachers.

"For now. I'll keep you posted on any further developments as they occur." Sable said calmly. Her children nodded and got up to leave. Gabe and Ailric were out the door quickly enough, but Sable caught her now red headed daughter before she could get out of the room.

"Something wrong, mom?" Sabine asked quietly.

"The leads we have so far arebare, Sabine, but Remus and I seem to think that maybe the Zabini's might have some useful information stored somewhere about some things concerning a man named Draven Black, who was a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. I want you to see if you can find out any more information from the Zabini boy Blaise. Be discrete, of course, but see what you can find if there is any connection."

"When?" Sabine asked. Sable thought quickly, calculating how long it would be before Sabine would have to let her system clear of the age enhancing potion. Luckily, if her quick figuring was accurate, the first Hogsmeade weekend fell right about the same time Sabine would have to resume her teenage form.

"The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up in a few weeks. We'll shoot for then." Sable said.

"I'll see what I can do." Sabine said vaguely.

"And the other two are not to know. But if you do need some help, get Gabe. He's less likely to blow a fuse than Ailric is." Sable said seriously, gesturing to where Ailric and Gabe had vacated the room. "I have some work for them to start researching on that will keep them occupied." Sabine nodded, but said nothing more as both women caught sight of bushy brown hair right outside the cracked door. Sable cleared her throat and stood straight. "I'll expect your report within a few days, Ms. Meadows. If you need anything else, please come and tell me."

"I'll do just that, Dr. Lee. Thank you." Sabine answered politely, pulling the door open and giving Hermione a quick smile as she walked away. Sable waved the girl in, quickly taking a seat behind her desk and motioning for Hermione to pull a seat up as well.

"What did you want to discuss, Hermione? I haven't even set the essay yet, and you're already going over topics?"

"I just want to get a head start." the girl said, coloring slightly. "I might as well get mine completed before I have to help Harry and Ron with theirs."

"An astute observation and management of time, Ms. Granger." Sable said. "Now, did you have any idea of where you would like to begin?" The teenager nodded and reached for the largest tome she had been carrying, quickly flipping open to a pre-marked page. "The Founders of Hogwarts? Well, you would definitely have enough material to work with."

"But there is so little information on them." Hermione said, shaking her head. Sable looked at the book and frowned. If all three of those books were dedicated to the four founders of Hogwarts, it seemed there would be more than enough information for Hermione to make out her essay. "I can't find what I'm looking for."

"What, specifically, are you trying to research?" Sable asked.

"A few things, actually. But mostly on how the school was built. What sort of magic was infused into the building when it was constructed. Was the school always a huge stone castle? Or has the innate magic changed it over time? What about the changing floor plans, or how certain rooms just appear and disappear? Why were they hidden to begin with? Things like that."

"Well, the changing floor plans were always credited to Ravenclaw. As for the some of the other topics, I am not very sure. Have you looked in the Restricted Section of the library yet, Hermione?"

"No, not yet." she answered. Sable nodded and reached for a slip of parchment, quickly scribbling a note to Madam Pince to let Hermione have access to the usually off-limits part of the library.

"Here, take this to the librarian and she will let you in for a few hours. I don't know if Prefects are automatically exempt from needing a permission slip, but one never hurt." Sable said, handing the parchment over to Hermione, who quickly placed it in her bag. "How were you planning on setting the essay up? Were you going to focus on one Founder, or give a little on all four?"

"I was planning on researching each one's contributions to the school, then giving a bit of the reason why they did what they did." she said, quickly flipping to another spot in the book. "Like here. This book says that each of the founders had a particular place in the castle where they lived and worked when they weren't teaching. But it doesn't say where, or even give a hint to the locations. Not even _Hogwarts: A History_ has the information I want."

"Any theories?"  
"A few. I think the headmaster's office is where Gryffindor stayed most of the time since he was eventually the headmaster of the school."

"What about the other three?"

"Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw I'm not so sure about. But I think I know where Slytherin might have been." she said. Sable nodded, remembering the mess with the Chamber of Secrets the few years before. It was quite likely that the place that had housed the basilisk had also at one time been Slytherin's private chambers, but no one knew for certain. So much of the knowledge of the founders had been lost since the school's inception that Sable wasn't sure there was any written documentation of anything left that could be used to answer Hermione's questions.

"See what you can find in the library, and I will search out my own the next time I have to head home for something. I have a few older books that might help out your research further down the line. Tonks should be by the house tomorrow or the next day. I'll send word for her to send them to me so you can borrow them, if you'd like."

"Oh, could I?" Hermione asked. "I would really appreciate it, Dr. Lee."

"Of course, Hermione." Sable said, picking a chiming sound that signified it was dinner time in the Great Hall. "We can continue this after dinner if you would like?"

"Oh, that's okay, Professor. I just wanted to run my ideas by you first to see if they were worth trying to research." Hermione said, gathering her books up and stuffing them in her bag.

"It's worth a try." Sable said, shrugging. "I'll help you out where I can, but if even _Hogwarts: A History_ is not that much help, I'm not sure there is much more to do. That book is the most comprehensive collection of information on Hogwarts."

"I'll see what I can find." Hermione said, following her out the room and towards the Great Hall. The two women continued to chat until they reached the double doors leading into the hall, then separated to their own ways. Sable took her place at the head table, nodding to Ailric and Sabine as she passed by. She took a seat next to Gabe and waited for the food to be served.

"You got a letter." the boy said, handing the envelope to her as the food appeared on their plates.

"Who's it from?" Sable asked, flipping over the envelope to read the name.

"Kareema and Niles." Gabe said simply. "Seems like Narcissa Malfoy got in touch with them not long after we ran into them at Diagon Alley."

"The witch is groping around for information." Sable said with a frown. "I wondered how long it would take for her to contact Kareema."

"She didn't waste much time. Think trouble is going to start brewing?"

"When the Malfoys are present, there's always trouble brewing." Sable said, scanning over the letter quickly before returning it to the envelope and placing it in her robes. "I'll get in touch with your godmother after dinner." That seemed to pacify her youngest son, and they quickly tucked in to dinner.

* * *

By the time Sable returned to her rooms that evening, along with Gabe and Sabine on her heels, there was a note waiting for her on the table, requesting her presence in the Headmaster's office. She quickly made her way through the castle and into Dumbledore's office, quite surprised to find Kingsley Shacklebolt and Danae Lovell standing there. 

"I take it the search of Grimmauld Place went well?" she asked, looking at the three piles of old books and other miscellaneous items that littered Dumbledore's already crammed desk.

"We found Draven Black's journals, along with a few other things you might find helpful." Kingsley said.

"We also found a copy of something else." Danae said, pulling a rolled up scroll out of her robes and handing it over to Dumbledore. "An original copy of Sirius' last will and testament." The wizened old man broke the seal and opened the parchment, reading over it quickly before placing it in his desk. "You were right when you said Sirius had left everything to Harry. At least with that, we've got a fighting chance that will stand up in the wizarding court."

"I will see to it immediately. There are still many things in that house that we can put to valuable use." Dumbledore said. Sable nodded and quickly pulled a book from the closest pile, flipping open to a random page and looking at the chicken-scratch medley of words.

"It's all just rumbling and babbling." Sable said, flipping to another page in the book. "And what's not babble is wrote out in rhymes and riddles."

"Well, he was admitted to the psyche ward at St. Mungo's before he died." Danae said, pushing her hair behind her ears. "But besides that, I've got news."

"About what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Rumor has it that things have been acting up in the Department of Mysteries." she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We pulled three people from the interior of the building earlier today and everyone of them were mumbling incoherently about dark places and cold feelings."

"Do you know what caused it?" Dumbledore asked.

"We don't know yet." Danae said. "But I just heard from Amelia Bones, and she's got the Unspeakables on double duty for the next few days."

"Keep us informed when you can, Ms. Lovell. I'd appreciate anything you can find."

"You don't think this has something to do with Flint popping up at the Ministry yesterday, do you, Dumbledore?" Kingsley asked.

"I don't see how." he answered.

"What did Flint want? I figured he'd have enough since to stay away from the Ministry building at a time like this." Sable pointed out.

"I don't know. But I did see him talking to Minister Bones." the dark man said. "And after he left, she sent Tonks and Moody to Azkaban to check on and tighten up security."

"You don't think they're still planning on breaking the Death Eaters out of Azkaban do you?" Sable asked, her attention momentarily taken away from the book in her hands.

"It is a possibility. With fewer dementors guarding the prison, it would highly likely that they are still attempting to put together a plan. It is something we should keep close watch on." Dumbledore said calmly.

"The recon work Remus and I did a few months proved a break out was in the planning, but no date had been set then." Sable reminded him.

"I've received word from another source that the remaining Death Eaters are going to attempt to use the werewolves they have recruited to assist with the overthrow of the prison. Should it happen in the near future, we should have sufficient notice." Dumbledore said.

"Does Remus know?" Sable asked quickly.

"Yes. And he is taking precautions to remain undetected." Dumbledore said reassuringly.

"Werewolves? They would have to be planning on attacking on a full moon if that's the case." Kingsley said, shaking his head. "But that doesn't make any sense. You can't control a werewolf after they've transformed, unless they've taken the Wolfsbane potion. And what good is it going to do to let a few dozen rabid wolves loose on the prison if they're going to attack the very people the Death Eaters are trying to break out?"

"There is a possibility that Voldemort already has someone making the potion, seeing as it was cleared through the Ministry some years ago." Dumbledore said.

"Wouldn't Snape be the first choice for that job?" Kingsley asked.

"I've already spoken to Severus, and he knows nothing of any potion being brewed for the recruits." the headmaster said calmly.

"Of course he doesn't." Sable muttered darkly, causing Dumbledore to give her a warning look.

"Now, Kingsley, Danae, I know you both need to return to the Ministry before anyone notices your absences." Dumbledore said, nodding at the two Aurors. "I suggest keeping your eyes and ears open for anything that might be of help."

"We'll do that, sir." Danae said, walking over to toss some floo powder into the fire, then calling out her destination before stepping in. Kingsley done the same, and soon it was only Dumbledore and Sable left in the office.

"What do you make of the contents, my dear?" Dumbledore asked, taking his seat behind his desk.  
"It's all babbling, rhymes and half concocted potions recipes." she answered, shaking her head. "None of it makes any sense." She glanced at a potions recipe that looked familiar to the Draught of the Living Dead, but noticed that the quantities of ingredients were ridiculously out of proportion, and the instructions were so far off that whoever tried to brew it would wind up with the cauldron exploding on them by the third step. "How old are these journals, Albus?"

"Draven Black was the great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Sirius' father Orion."

"So five or six generations ago?" she asked. Dumbledore nodded. "What exactly am I suppose to be looking for in here, Albus?"

"There is talk of a possible counter curse to the Unforgivable in one of these tomes. Sirius brought it up a few weeks before he disappeared behind the veil, and we were just looking into it when the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries occurred." Dumbledore said, gesturing to the books. "Although I seriously doubt such a thing exists, it would be prudent to check all possibilities thoroughly."

"This guy was just an amateur researcher, is it really possible he came up with a such a powerful counter curse? I mean, really, Albus." Sable asked.

"Yes. But you were nothing more than a teenager, yet look at what you accomplished before you left us." he reminded her gently. Sable said nothing, just shut the book and placed it back in the pile she had gotten it from.

"I suppose you're right." she conceded, shrinking the books down to the size of coins and slipping them in the pockets of her robes. "I'll get on this immediately."

"Thank you, Sable." Dumbledore said. "I would do it myself, but I am afraid the majority of my spare time is being used to convince a large part of the wizarding court that trouble is about to show its face."

"Still those that refuse to believe he's back, huh?" Sable asked, getting up from her seat.

"Unfortunately so."

"We will do what we can, Albus." she said simply. "Eventually others will see the truth."

"But how many more deaths will it take, for them to realize? Sirius will not be the only victim of this uprising, he already is not."

"As our information grows, we will put together something, Albus." Sable said reassuringly.

"I have learned as time goes on, that it is when things get the hardest, that something will come up unexpectedly and show a way out." he mused.

"Well then keep your eyes open for that something, because we need it right now." she said, grinning at him. Dumbledore just shook his head as she showed herself out of his office, heading down towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway. She knew that if Gabe and Sabine were still there, they could help her look through the dozens of books she now had in her possession.

She was in for a long night, that much was assured. Between trying to get the material ready for the next days classes, pouring over the books, watching the latest batch of Wolfsbane Potion and figuring out where to slip Potter's Occulemency lessons in between it all, she already knew she would be strung tighter than a wire before the week was over with.

'_But it's worth it.' _she muttered to herself as she traversed the halls. '_It will all be worth it in the end.'_

_

* * *

_"You must keep your defenses in a constant state of readiness." Sable said to her sixth year Slytherin and Gryffindor students. "When dueling, you are never sure when your opponent will try to hit you with a curse that could very well take you out for good. Shielding spells are the most helpful, but require immense amounts of concentration. is a powerful spell that will repel most curses and jinxes. Let's try that now, shall we? I want you to pair up with someone and get into a ready position. On my mark, I want one to say the shielding spell while the other tries to jinx their partner." 

The students in her class quickly paired up with each other, one half separating to one side of the room while the other went the other way.

"Now remember, you must concentrate on your words or the spell will not work." Sable said, backing up a safe distance from the teenagers. "On my mark. Three, two, one, go."

A flurry of sparks filled the room, and she managed to see a few of the students actually conjure up the small blue shield that was signature of the _Aegisid_ spell. Potter, Granger, Malfoy, Finnigan, Parkinson, Zabini and surprisingly enough Longbottom and Goyle managed to remain unscathed during the little exercise…while the rest of the class was not as fortunate. Bouts of laughter erupted from her students when the results of the myriad of jinxes were shown. Dean Thomas was sprouting set of tentacles from his forehead, while Ron and Daphne Greengrass seemed to be on the receiving end of a Bat-Boogey hex. Various other afflictions were seen, and Sable had to admit that some of the effects of the jinxes were quite unique.

"All right, all right, calm down everyone." she said, shushing the laughter down to a dull roar and quickly turning the jinxed students back to normal. "Now everyone that managed to produce the blue shield, congratulations. All the rest of you, pair up again and repeat the exercise until the bell rings to release you from class. And I want a half-roll of parchment on the uses of shielding charms and any possible variations by next class. Those of you that managed to get the spell right the first time, please feel free to assist your classmates or begin the assigned homework at your desk. Potter, I need to speak with you, if you please."

The students quickly fell into their assigned tasks, and Sable waited at the door for Harry to step outside into the hallway, away from the prying ears of his classmates.

"You wanted to talk to me, Professor?" he asked as she shut the door.

"Yes, Harry. Have you managed to gather all your D.A. members and inform them of a meeting time?" she asked.

"It is set for tonight, in this classroom at seven." he said, nodding. "Will that be long enough for you?"

"Perfectly fine, yes. I just want to take note of what you've taught them and how well they can execute the spells. Although I have been thinking. You set up the D.A. because Umbridge would not allow you to practice the spells you were reading about. Do you still plan on continuing now that she is gone?"

"I asked Hermione about it, and she said I should talk to you first." the teenager said, shrugging.

"We can talk more about it later, if you wish. But I do have one more questions. Have you been practicing your Occlumency lessons?"

"Most nights, yes."

"Any weird dreams or things like that?"

"No."

"Good. Then I think we can bump your lessons down to every other week if that's okay with you." she said. "How does every other Wednesday, starting next week, sound?"

"Fine with me." Harry said. "Quidditch practice doesn't start for a few more weeks. And practices are usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Good. Then I'll be expecting you next Wednesday in this classroom after dinner." she said, opening the door to let him back in.

"Uh, Professor?" Harry said quickly, causing her to pull the door shut and look at him.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Remus told me he had to go north for some Order business. Has anyone heard from him yet?" Harry asked.

"He sent Dumbledore a letter when he arrived, but we haven't heard anything from him in a few days." Sable said. It was obvious the boy was concerned about his old Professor, and he wasn't the only one. Sable was just as worried about her dear friend, especially since there were supposed to be Death Eaters running around up there trying to recruit the werewolves to Voldemort's side. "If I hear anything, though, I'll be sure to tell you."

"Thanks, Professor."

"Anytime, Harry." she said with a smile, patting him lightly on the shoulder before they entered back into the classroom. It was a few minutes later before the bell sounded and Sable had to de-tentacle and de-inflate the few remaining students who had not mastered the shielding spell yet as they filed out of the classroom and into the hallway, headed to their next class. "Remember, a half role of parchment on shielding charms and their variations by next class." she called out as they left. There was an assortment of grumblings as the last one finally filed out, and Sable just shook her head before returning to her desk and pulling out one of the books that had been taken from 12 Grimmauld place.

She had given Sabine, Ailric, and Gabe each a book to take a look at, hoping that maybe they would be able to discern something useful in the babbling rubbish that filled the pages. But that was two days ago, and still nothing was making any sense. The book she had in front of her was filled with page after page of riddles and what looked like poetry verses. Some of them mentioned potion's ingredients while some brought up witches and wizards who lived during the medieval period of Britain.

'_The darkened wings of le fey will guide you through_

_A place in the wilds where the truth doth brew._

_A glen you will find, where certainty lay,_

_To keep a threat of darkness forever at bay._

_The Lady and Queen of times so past,_

_Will teach you that which they have cast_

_Magics of old, magics of the land, _

_Magics of truth that withhold a firm hand._

_Around Maeve's successor you will surely find_

_Those that have done the greatest with their time_

_But search though you will, for the answers to these_

_Unless you are worthy, you will surely fall at ill ease.'_

Honestly, what was all that supposed to mean? Sure, the riddles were somewhat specific, but what was she supposed to do with it when she didn't have a leg to stand on? Lady? Queen? Magics of truth? Sable honestly didn't know where to start, but figured it would be prudent to begin _somewhere_. She scanned over the riddle again, taking in the parts that she could somehow piece together from each line.

She pulled a quill and some bound parchment from her desk and began adding to the already scribbled notes that made up nearly eight pages. Maybe after going through all the information in the book, something would pop out at her and make some sense.

She definitely hoped so, anyway. Riddles and poetry were most definitely not her most favorite things to deal with, even on her best day. And she desperately wished that Remus was there to help her out. He was the one who always had his head stuck in some book while they were in school. Surely he would recognize some of the vaguer references in the riddle that were over her head.

Sable just grumbled and tried to focus her thinking. Remus wasn't there, and wouldn't be for some time. So she was stuck trying to decode the messages…if there really were any messages…in the lines set before her. She took another quick look at the riddle and shook her head.

"I'd rather have a potions recipe any day of the week." she muttered glumly, quickly getting to work. Maybe if she was lucky, she could try to figure out at least part of the damned mess before dinner rolled around.

* * *

_**A/N** - I hope the few of you that actually managed to wait this long for an update will be pleased to know that I am going to be updating this story a bit more often now that I have a roof over my head. Or at least until another hurricane decides to come by the coast and wipe us out again._

_Special props to **Camilinha** and **Princess Danae **for keeping me on my toes and bugging me about this story. From this point on, this story is dedicated to both you wonderful women. What would I do without you?_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer **- The characters within the Harry Potter series do not belong to me, but to a wonderful woman known the world over as J.K. Rowling. The only thing I can remotely call mine within this story is Sable, her children, and any other unfamiliar characters/places that have yet to be shown in the canon universe._

_

* * *

__Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 15_

_Memories Revisited_

_

* * *

_All Harry could see in the darkened corridor was a the small amount of light that was glinting from the torches that lined the walls. He didn't know where he was, but it felt oddly familiar, and more threatening that he wanted to admit to. Using the wall as a guide since he couldn't see anything more than a foot in front of him, he continued on his way around a bend in the tunnel…only to be knocked flat onto his back when he ran into something very hard. Harry picked himself up and carefully reached out to identify the obstruction in his way. 

A wall.

It was a solid wall.

Harry reached out and touched the stone, noting the cool feel of the stone as he ran his fingers along the surface. He was about to pull back when his fingers grazed over a part that was carved out. He took a step back, raised his wand, and muttered a spell to illuminate his surroundings. But as the light flooded the dark, damp area, his eyes caught sight of two very large, very bright, very familiar looking sets of emerald eyes set atop the carved coiling bodies on the door.

A grating noise was heard, and the door slowly swung open to reveal one of the last places he ever wanted to return to.

The Chamber of Secrets.

Harry felt his blood run cold as he stepped through the opened doors and into the large, shadow filled room that was full of carved serpents.

'_Who sssso daresssss to disssssturb my sssssacred groundsssssss….' _a hissing voice demanded, ringing through the empty space around him. Harry felt the panic run ruthlessly through him, and was about to high tail it back out of the arena like area when a light chuckling caught his attention.

"Oh, we have a visitor." a low, childishly feminine voice said. "Hello there."

Harry looked a bit further into the darkened chamber, vaguely seeing the outline of a small girl dressed robes. She walked out of the shadows, and Harry got a good look at her finally. She couldn't have been older than eight or nine, and had large blue eyes and a mane of dark hair that was hanging over her shoulder in a thick plait.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, not bothering to think about anything other than getting out of this nightmarish place. "What are you doing here? How did you get down here?" The little girl just smiled and skipped behind one of the tall pillars, acting for all the world like she didn't have a care in the world. Harry's grip on his wand tightened as he closed the distance quickly. "Would you just come here? We've got to get out of here. There's a basilisk…"

"I know." she answered, her voice ringing clear through the dimly lit chamber.

"We've got to get out of here. Let's go!" he said firmly, his ears picking up the swishing of water somewhere nearby. He made to grab the little girl, but she deftly slipped away from his grasp.

"It won't come until it is called." the little girl said calmly, looking at him with innocence wide eyes. Harry shivered as the familiar phrase sunk into his consciousness. "And put your wand away. You won't be needing it. The basilisk isn't going to hurt you. At least not while I'm here."

"Right." Harry said, rolling his eyes and making a grab for the little girl again. He caught her this time and she struggled vainly against him.

"Let me go! I don't want to go back up there! Let me go, you meanie!" she struggled.

"I'll let you go when we get out of…."

'_Releasssssse her…._' that hissing voice sounded again, causing the room to shake as if an they were in the middle of an earthquake. Harry didn't have time to comprehend anything, all he knew was he had to get him and this little girl out of the Chamber of Secrets quickly before the basilisk found them. He made a run for the opened door of the Chamber, but stopped short when he saw movement coming from a darkened corner closer to the entrance. A few seconds later, the girl's struggling had ceased, and she held still as the gigantic head of the fanged serpent appeared from the shadows, hissing violently. '_Releasssssse the child……'_

"Just let me go!" the girl demanded. "He'll go away if you let me go!"

"Sure it will." Harry said, his mind trying to wrap around the fact that the same overgrown snake he had killed a few years before was back again. He didn't have time to think on it much though, because the little girl stomped on his foot and kicked him hard in the shins, causing him to let her go. She took off running as soon as his grip had lessened, headed straight for the coiling, curling snake that had made itself known only seconds before. "Get back over here! Don't you know what that thing is!" The little girl didn't respond, and Harry readied his wand to try and distract the snake long enough for him to get to the stupid girl and get her away from danger. But before he could even think of a spell, the great snake stopped its hissing and curled around the little girl, surrounding her within a protective circle of its deadly coils…even though it's bulging yellow eyes were trained right on him.

"I told you he wouldn't hurt me." she said proudly, smiling at him. Harry was about to make a move to get her away from the king of serpents once again, but the smallest move set the snake into motion again. It was like slow motion, watching as the creature raised up and struck at him.

Harry didn't even have time to block himself before he saw the fangs, ready to sink into his flesh and tear it shred for…..

Harry jerked himself awake, reflexively reaching for his wand as his head shot up. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was still sitting in his History of Magic class, and it was Professor Binns' monotonous voice droning all around him, not a vindictive hiss that had set his hair to raising.

He blinked a few times, trying to get his senses reoriented and the feeling of stark fear to go away as he put his wand away. Suddenly, something hit the back of his head, and he looked down to see a small wad of paper lying innocuously on the floor beside his desk.He picked up the crumbled ball of paper and smoothed it out, taking in the scrawled handwriting that was slanting off the paper.

_**You okay, mate?**_

He picked up his quill and penned a quick response to the query, still trying to get the all to familiar pictures that had been running through his mind to go away. What had caused him to even think about, much less dream, about the Chamber of Secrets?

**_Fine. Fell asleep_. **He crumbled the note up and tossed it haphazardly back to Ron, who had to bend over his desk seat to retrieve it from the floor . He saw Ron read the note and scribble something back, quickly launching the parchment wad back at him. Harry's reflexes kicked in before he even realized it, and after five years of Quidditch, he plucked the wad out of the air before it ever got close to the desktop.

**_I finally figured out how Binns died. He bored himself to death one night grading essays. _**Harry grinned, nodding slightly in agreement. Binns was well known as the most boring teacher that graced Hogwarts' walls. In fact, it seemed that at the present that Hermione was the only one even attempting to take notes from the ghostly instructor. Harry penned a quick response and wadded the parchment back up, tossing it at Ron, who managed to catch it this time. A few seconds later, Harry caught the crumbled paper as it flew towards him.

_**Wouldn't surprise me. You taking notes?**_

**_We can get them from Hermione later. She's the only one who's managed to stay awake till this point. _**Harry penned his reply quickly, taking note of the time before tossing the paper back one last time. It was almost time for History of Magic to end. The next class was Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry was more than ready to get out and stretch his legs a bit.

'_Wonder what Professor Tartavu has today?' _he wondered idly, quickly shoving his books into his bag as the bell rang to dismiss them class. He and Ron waited for Hermione while she shoved a thick wad of notes into her bag before she joined them outside the classroom door.

"Geez, Hermione, did you write down Binns' lecture word for word?" Ron asked eyeing the papers that were sticking out at odd angles from Hermione's bulging bag.

"Actually, I did." she said primly. "His lecture covered some information on the four Founders that wasn't in our texts, if you didn't realize. And it is very important for me to get any reliable information I can since they are the topics for my essay for Professor Lee."

"She hasn't even set the bloody thing yet!" Ron said, shaking his head. "You've still got a month before she assigns it, and then another month before it's due!"

"Time that I'll spend trying to correct yours and Harry's before you turn it in, no doubt." Hermione said, causing Ron to color slightly. Harry said nothing, knowing good and well that if he didn't get Hermione to look over the essay, she'd wind up taking it to proofread anyway the night before it was due. And he wasn't about to get into an argument with her when it was a well known fact she was the reason he and Ron had passed History of Magic since their first year. It seemed like she was the only one in their year who could take Binns' droning on and on without succumbing to sleep within two minutes of entering the classroom.

The three of them trudged out of the classroom and down the hallways until they were out of the castle and headed towards Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures, picking up a few members of each House along the way. Since it was their sixth year, Care of Magical Creatures had become an optional class for them, but all three had signed up for it none the less. Of course, they hadn't realized that Hagrid would be absent for the beginning of the term, but Professor Tartavu was making a suitable replacement. Today was their third class of the term, and already he had brought a mixture of magical creatures to class. Thankfully, no accidents had occurred as of yet. But their newest Professor didn't seem like the type to bring any Blast-Ended Skrewts to class either.

The medley of sixth years gathered in front of the man and waited, chatting amongst themselves until he finally turned around and welcomed them.

"Ah, you're all here. Good." Mr. Tartavu said, wiping his dirty hands on a rag. "Is everyone ready? I've got a treat for you all today. Something rare and unusual."

"Not another hippogriff." someone moaned, causing the entire class to chuckle and turn amused glances at Draco Malfoy. The blonde boy just glared and turned his nose up.

"No. No hippogriffs. Today we're going to work with something a little more manageable. So if you would follow me, please." the man said, motioning them to follow.

They followed the new teacher back behind Hagrid's hut, where the school garden was located. In the thick of the bushes, Harry spotted a girl with long black hair who was wearing a set of dark violet robes. But the most surprising thing was the fact that not only was there Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes perched on a tree branch above the girl's head, Dr. Lee's silvery-white phoenix Aria was there as well. The sight of the two birds caused a chattering of murmurs to break out amongst the rest of the students in his class, quickly alerting the unknown girl of their presence.

"Who is that?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "I've never seen her before. She's not wearing Hogwarts robes."

"No clue." Ron answered. Harry had never seen her before either, but it was somewhat apparent that whoever she was, she recognized someone in the group, because a smile quickly graced her face when they all fanned out around the outside gate of Hagrid's garden.

"Gather round, please." Mr. Tartavu said briskly, then turned to the girl and motioned her over. Harry watched as she muttered something to the birds, causing Fawkes to lift off of his perch and fly over to the fence in front of them, landing lightly on the post…and causing a few of his classmates who had been standing closer to the front to take a step backwards. The young woman came walking towards them, the silvery-white phoenix standing proudly on her shoulder, and Harry finally got a good look at her.

She looked to be a little older than the rest of the students, and was a friendly enough looking young woman. She wasn't very tall, either, he noted as she stood next to Mr. Tartavu, only coming up to the elder man's shoulders. Behind him, Harry could hear some snickers coming from the Slytherin students, and he saw a smirk gracing Malfoy's face as he said something to Blaise Zabini that caused the darker boy to grin and fold his arms across his chest, a grin firmly in place the longer he looked at the newcomer.

"Today we're going to be working with phoenixes." Mr. Tartavu announced, gesturing to the two birds who were next to him. "And since one of our specimens is quite ornery about who handles her, I've asked for some assistance from my younger sister."

"Hello, everyone." the young woman said pleasantly. "Pleased to meet you. You just call me Corbin."

'_Sister?' _Harry thought, glancing at the two of them again, and noticing the mediocre amount of similarity. They had the same general facial shape. But her eyes were an odd color, he noticed, unlike the blue eyes of the older man before them. Harry had never seen anyone with purple colored eyes before, and wondered if perhaps it was a spell.

"And these two fine feathered fiends are Fawkes and Aria. Fawkes belongs to Headmaster Dumbledore and Aria is Dr. Lee's. Both were kind enough to let us borrow them for today's lesson, so be sure to give them some thanks the next time you see either of them. Now, who can tell me a little about these magnificent creatures?" Mr. Tartavu asked, turning to them expectantly. A few hands were raised around him, and Harry waited for someone to be called on."Yes, Mr. Finnigan?"

"They die in a burst of flames and come back from the ashes." Seamus said.

"Very good. These days are called Burning Days, and not only happen as the phoenix ages, but also if it receives a fatal injury from some outside source." he explained. "Can anyone else add to that? Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"As the Burning Day approaches, phoenixes molt and resemble a half plucked chicken. Its eyes dull, and it makes gagging noises. Of course once the flames are cleared, a newborn phoenix, still small and ugly, rises from the ashes. Within a few days though, the baby will mature and grow into an adult phoenix." Hermione said, sounding more like a textbook than a human student.

"Very good, Ms. Granger." Mr. Tartavu commended, nodding to her. "Anyone else have anything to add? Yes, Mr. Zabini?"

"They have the ability to disappear and reappear at will, but they do it in a burst of flames. Phoenixes are also herbivorous creatures. They don't eat meat, and live off of fruit or berries they can find in the wild."

"Exactly." Mr. Tartavu said. "Ms. Parkinson?"

"Phoenix tears have healing properties." Pansy answered.

"Yes. And the tears are even rarer than the bird itself." Mr. Tartavu said. "No one is for sure what other properties the tears may have, but there is some speculation that they could be used in healing potions to enhance the results when a patient drinks it. In fact, one of the first mentions of a bird that could heal was with the story of Cliodna, an Irish druidess who was not only a bird animagus, but owned three birds who could heal the sick. Some say one of them was actually a phoenix, but there has never been any proof of that yet."

"Where do they come from?" someone asked.

"They are most commonly found in Egypt, India, or China." the young woman known as Corbin said as she stroked the silvery-white plumage of Aria. "But they have been spotted in other places before, although it is rare. They like to nest on mountain peeks, mostly as a defensive measure to keep themselves safe during their burn times."

"Now, you must remember, that these birds are very rare. And they also have the highest danger rating available from the Ministry of Magic. But, keep in mind that it is not because they are dangerous creatures to be around. Phoenixes are very gentle creatures even though the are not very apt at being domesticated…hence the higher rating." Mr. Tartavu said, grabbing a container of dark colored berries and popping a few in each of the bird's beaks.

"And as many of you know, phoenix feathers are used as the core of many wands." Corbin continued on, picking up their professor's lecture without a hitch. "Does anyone know what happens when wands sharing a phoenix feather core from the same bird are forced to duel or battle each other?"

"Ten points to anyone who can answer that one correctly." Mr. Tartavu said with a grin. Harry cast his eyes around, but no one was offering an answer. But he knew what would happen, knew all to well what had happened in the graveyard the night he had been forced to duel Voldemort. That was one night that still haunted his dreams, and most likely one he would never forget.

"The spell called the _Priori Incantatem _is called." he said before he could stop himself. Beside him, he saw Hermione give him a funny look and watched as the tips of Ron's ears colored pink. "And…and the phoenix song is heard."

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. Well answered." Mr. Tartavu said with a smile. "Can someone tell us what _Priori Incantatem _is? Mr. Malfoy?"

"The wands regurgitate the last spells their owners did in a backwards order." he said.

"That's a close enough explanation." he answered. "The phoenix song, on the other hand, is said to give strength and hope to those it sings for. And it is rumored to increase the courage of the pure hearted, while simultaneously striking fear into those who are impure."

"Like the bird, it is a very rare effect. Although I've been told by the few who have witnessed it that it is a sight to behold." Corbin said, smiling gently. "Any questions so far?"

"Why is that one white?" Lavender Brown asked, pointing at Aria. "I thought they were all the same color."

"Good question." Mr. Tartavu answered. "You're right. They are all usually red and gold, but Aria here is a bit of a nonconformist, if you will. As you can assume, due to their longevity, phoenixes do not reproduce on a set schedule. In fact, it's believed that they only breed every five to seven hundred years or so. And even when they do, only one egg is ever produced. Now, I'm not too sure about Headmaster Dumbledore's phoenix, but I do know where Aria came from. There is a law passed where I come from, similar to your breeding law here, that bans new breeds of creatures being produced by experimental breeding. But it only went into affect 5 years ago or so in the States, much later than you Ban on Experimental Breeds which was put into office in 1965. Aria parents were two red/gold phoenixes who produced two eggs during the mating. The first gave a male, red and gold bird that resembled both of the parents. Fawkes is a good example of what the first one looked like. But for the longest time, the other egg never showed any signs of life."

"It was a few weeks later when the egg finally did crack, and out popped a silvery-white thing that looked more like a slug with wings than a baby phoenix." Corbin continued easily. "That was some century and a half ago, when our godparent's family first started breeding magical creatures. Ever since then, Aria has followed the same pattern as any other phoenix. And other than a few small differences, she's essentially the same as any other phoenix."

"So she was a freak accident?" Dean Thomas asked, causing a few people to chuckle. The Tartavu siblings even grinned.

"Something like that." Mr. Tartavu said, nodding. "Now, if you'd like, you can come up here a few at a time and give these critters a friendly pat if you'd like. In fact, grab a handful of those berries that Corbin picked and you can feed'em a bit."

"Do you think it would be better if the class split up, Gabe. Aria is not very good with large crowds." the young woman asked quickly.

"Good idea. We wouldn't want any accidents because she's nervous." their professor said. "Everyone split up into two groups and I'll take one while my sister gets the other. You can switch halfway through class so everyone will get a look at both of them. I want everyone to take note of the differences between both of these birds. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask either Corbin or myself before you leave today since you'll be using the information you gather to write out an essay on phoenixes and the creature we'll be studying next class period."

The class quickly split up, Gryffindors in one group and Slytherins in the other, along with the few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws present thrown into either group for good measure.

"I'll take this group." Corbin said, nodding to the group Harry and the other Gryffindors were in. "If you'll follow me, please, ladies and gentlemen. And grab a handful of those berries as you walk by. It will help to distract Aria if you want to try and pet her."

Their small group broke away from the others and fanned out around the young woman who was being used as a perch for the silvery-white bird. Harry and the others done as requested, grabbing the berries as the bucket was passed around.

"Alright then, does anyone have any questions so far?" Corbin asked, looking at them.

"Can I touch her?" Seamus asked.

"Sure you can. Just don't move too fast or you'll scare her." the lady answered, moving Aria from her shoulder to her forearm. The bird stretched her wings and flapped them a bit to balance herself in the new position. Harry hadn't noticed it before, but she was wearing what looked like leather gloves that extended up her arm. That shouldn't have been much of a surprise though, considering the grip that Aria had on her handler's forearm. He knew all too well what those talons were capable of, remembering how Fawkes had clawed out the eyes of the basilisk when he'd went down into the Chamber of Secrets his second year.

"She's cold!" Seamus exclaimed, his left hand gently stroking the shimmering feathers of the phoenix, who was watching him with black eyes. "It's like touching ice!" Aria's wings suddenly extended in agitation, obviously scared by the Irish boy's voice, and Corbin took a cautionary step back away from the group, muttering slightly under her breath until the bird calmed back down.

"Sorry about that." she said a few moments later. "Like I said, she's not used to a large group like this. It's usually just the family she's around. She'll behave herself now that she's got some food in her."

"Sounds like someone else I know." Hermione muttered, casting a knowing glance at Ron, who obviously didn't hear her.

"Are you a part of Professor Lee's family?" Ron asked, causing the young woman to look at him oddly, shaking her head.

"Oh no, I'm not part of her family." she said smiling amiably and waving Dean Thomas over, telling him to feed Aria some of the berries to distract her. "My godparents are good friends of Professor Lee's, so she's around our house quite often. That's how I got to know Aria. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you."

"No problem." Ron said. Harry just shrugged and watched as Dean continued to feed Aria until he was out of berries, only to have Mandy Brocklehurst of Ravenclaw to take his spot in giving the beautiful bird doting attention.

"Is Aria the only phoenix of her kind?" Hermione asked. "Or are their others like her?"

"Well, our family wasn't sure at first, but the archives were searched, both in the family and the Department of Magic, and records were found of sighting a phoenix of this color some hundred or so years ago over the Great Pyramids in Egypt." Corbin explained. "But it was never seen again. So we seem to believe that Aria's differences are due to a wild type recessive gene that has been suppressed for generations."

"But if that is the case, then there could possibly be more like her." Hermione pointed out. "It's like she's the exact opposite of the norm for a phoenix."

"Not exactly the opposite, but I understand what you are saying." Corbin said, nodding. "It is hard to get an accurate number of these creatures because they are usually so bashful when in the wild. The normal ways of assessing information on them do not work, therefore we can not use the same formulas to compute the statistics we usually use for other breeds of animals simply because we don't know how many there are to begin with. And we don't have anyway of finding out, so trying to study the population genetics ebb and flow from the original placement is practically impossible."

Harry blinked a few times, trying to figure out what the young woman had just said. She sounded more like a Muggle biologist than a witch. But apparently Hermione and a few others had no problem understanding her because the conversation continued to flow smoothly as each and every one of them took a turn petting Aria while Corbin answered their questions easily.

It was a few minutes after he had run out of berries that Professor Tartavu's voice called out for the groups to switch. The members of their group bid the young woman a fond farewell and they walked off towards their replacement teacher.

* * *

"Ms. Tartavu, it's a pleasure to see you again. Though I thought it would be a bit longer before we crossed paths again." Blaise Zabini said smoothly, giving her a small grin as he and the rest of the group gathered around her. 

"Thank you, Mr. Zabini. It's good to see you too. You as well, Mr. Malfoy." Sabine said, nodding to the blonde boy standing next to Blaise. "I do so hope your mother is doing well, Draco? You must give her my regards the next time you speak with her. Nana Kareema said to send word that she would probably be dropping by within the next few months and that your mother simply must come to tea one day."

"Ms. Tartavu." he answered in acknowledgement. "I shall pass on the message."

"I would appreciate it greatly." she answered, nodding at him before turning to address the group as a whole. "So, does anyone have any questions for me to answer?"

"Yeah. Who are you?" Pansy Parkinson asked bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Sabine asked, caught a little off guard by the utter coldness in the other girl's voice. She didn't need this right now, that was for sure. But one quick look at the pug-faced girl told Sabine that she was currently in the middle of the viper pit, and that if she backed down from the Slytherin girl, her carefully wrought plan to get to Zabini would come crashing down.

"Who are you?" Pansy repeated coldly. "You said you and Mr. Tartavu are family members of Kareema and Niles Tartavu, but that's impossible. They never had any children."

"Well, Ms….?"

"Parkinson. Pansy Parkinson." the girl answered curtly.

"Well then, Ms. Parkinson, you might want to do a little more research…or pay a little more attention to what is being said." Sabine said simply. "I said earlier that we are the godchildren on the Tartavu's, not direct family. We were adopted."

"You're purebloods then?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, we are." she said. "And just to satisfy your apparent curiosity, since you seem to want my life story, I graduated from Salem academy a few years ago, and am currently an apprentice to a Herbology master in the Department of Magic."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Visiting my brother on my day off." she said simply. "Now, have I passed inspection, or would like to know what my address, age and blood type are as well?" That seemed to take some of the wind out of the other girl's sails, and Sabine silently congratulated herself on putting the annoying little twit in her place.

"I just wanted to make sure that the person teaching us is properly qualified for the job." Pansy sneered. Sabine caught her immediate response before she voiced it, knowing that if she repeated what was going through her mind more than just her plan would be tossed into the air.

"Perhaps you'd like to make note of my O.G.R.E. and H.A.G. scores, then?" Sabine asked, narrowing her eyes at the teenager.

"O.G.R.E. scores? H.A.G. scores What's that?" Pansy asked suspiciously.

"Original Graduating Requirement Exam scores, and Handling and Guardian scores." Zabini answered easily. "O.G.R.E. scores are similar to N.E.W.T.S. Exit exams to graduate from Salem, if I'm correct."

"You are, Mr. Zabini." Sabine said, honestly surprised that he recognized the acronym for the standardized tests given in Salem. "Now if we're done discussing me, I'd like to get on with the assignment my brother has set for you to finish."

The next fifteen minutes were spent answering a few odd questions about Aria and phoenixes in general before the group of students began to slowly inch their way away from her. Sabine didn't stop them, though, figuring it would be easier to strike up a conversation with Blaise while everyone else was otherwise occupied. Thankfully, luck seemed to be on her side because Blaise had hung back from his classmates, being the last one to opt to try and pet Aria.

"She really is a beautiful creature." the teenage boy said, stroking Aria's tail lightly.

"And a very stuffed one as well." Sabine said with a grimace. Between holding Aria on her forearm and the added weight from all the berries the students had been feeding her, Sabine thought her arm was going to fall off. Aria might be smaller than a normal sized phoenix, but the bird still got heavy after a while. Blaise popped the last berry into Aria's opened mouth and watched as she readjusted the bird onto her shoulder, quickly stripping the protective leather gloves off her arms and heaving a sigh of relief. "Ahh…that feels much better. Oh, ruddy hell, Aria! Quit digging your bloody talons into my shoulder!" Sabine winced as the bird swayed precariously on her shoulder before regaining her balance, the claws piercing her robes and undoubtedly drawing blood. The phoenix seemed to sense her distress, and quickly left its perch and settled on the lowest branch of the tree overhead, letting off a soft crooning noise.

"Apologetic little thing, isn't she?" Blaise commented easily, looking up at Aria as she began to preen.

"She's in a good mood since everyone's been prying her with food." Sabine said, using her wand to mend the rips in the shoulder of her robes. "I've found that a content tummy breeds a content disposition, be it humans or animals."

"Makes sense."

"I should say so." Sabine said, finally turning her attention to the boy. "So, how have you been, Mr. Zabini, since we last crossed paths? Well I hope."

"Please, it's just Blaise. Can't have you being all formal with me when you're calling Draco by his first name."

"Forgive me, but I got the impression that I was asking for a tongue lashing if I was anything but politely formal." Sabine said, giving the back of Pansy's head a scathing look.

"Ignore Parkinson. She gets paranoid anytime another woman seems remotely polite to Draco." Blaise said with a shrug, easily dismissing his Housemate's behavior.

"Lovely relationship that is. What did she think I was going to do? Jump him in front of everything in Merlin's creation?"

"I wouldn't put it past her." Sabine grinned and began folding the protective gloves and putting them in her bag she'd stashed nearby. "So when's the next time you're coming to visit your brother?" Blaise asked casually, sidling up next to her. Sabine turned her head towards the dark headed boy and quickly schooled her features into one of innocence. After all, her mom wanted her to squeeze information out of the boy, not make him suspicious.

"I'm not sure, really. He said something about a weekend when your classes are allowed down into the village?" she said, turning her full attention to him once again.

"You mean Hogsmeade visits."

"Yes, that's it." she affirmed. "I was going to see if I could come back then, unless he's on duty in the village. When is that, anyway? He never gave me a date."

"I don't think they've been set yet, actually." Blaise answered, arms crossed lightly over his chest as he watched her. "We usually don't find out about them until a month or so into the term, and that's if we're lucky. Half the time we find out about them a few days before."

"At the last minute? That's not good." Sabine grumbled, feigning annoyance. "My boss won't let me take off without a few weeks notice."

"Why don't you just get him to owl the schedule to you when it is set?" Blaise suggested.

"I would. But if I know my brother, he's likely to forget if no one reminds him." she said with a frown. "He has a tendency to get sidetracked with his work the longer it goes on. Wouldn't surprise me if he forgets a couple of your classes before this year is over with."

"I can send it to you." he offered easily.

"Would you, please?" Sabine asked, giving him a smile. "I'd really appreciate it. If it's not too much of a problem. I don't want to inconvenience you or anything."

"No problem."

"So how are the grape crops coming along this year?" Sabine asked, striking up a conversation with him about his family's vineyards in Italy. "I read that your mother created another strand of disease resistant grapevines."  
"Yes, she's been toying around with her pets again. Merlin knows what the place is going to look like by the time Christmas holidays come around and I go home. Last time I thought the jungle had taken over my entire house."

"What was she doing? More crossbreeding tests?" Sabine asked.

"Trying out a new fertilizer made from the weeping rose bushes I told you about before. The house at the Camilinha vineyard was completely overrun with some kind of snapping fern she managed to come up with. Took us nearly two days to get rid of them all." Blaise said with a frown. It was obvious that particular memory was anything but pleasant if the look on his face was any indication. Sabine was about to move the conversation down another topic when the sound of the school bell was heard ringing through the air.

"Oh dear, time for you all to go." Sabine said. "It was good to see you again, Blaise. It really was."

"You too." the dark boy said, shouldering his pack. "I'll send you the Hogsmeade dates when they tell us what they are."

"Thanks again." Sabine answered, giving him a little wave as he joined up with the rest of his housemates. The rest of the class walked passed her, and she bid them all goodbye, watching as they made their way up to the castle. A few moments later, she felt the presence of her potion enhanced younger brother standing beside her. "Well, I would say that went rather smoothly, wouldn't you?"

"I can't believe you actually showed your face to the students. Mom gave us the aging potion for a reason you know." he said sourly.

"She said get the information from Zabini, and that is exactly what I'm doing. She didn't say how. And besides, I did take some of it before I came out here. I wasn't about to blow my cover coming down here looking like a sixteen year old." Sabine said calmly.

"Yes, but I doubt she meant setting up a date with the twit just to find out about some damned books."

"I didn't set up a date with him."

"You're stringing the boy along, Sabine."

"Since when are you concerned about ethics, Gabe?" she asked dully. "You're worse than any of us about doing something and having an ulterior motive the entire time."

"It's not your ethics I'm concerned with." he answered shortly. "It's you being alone in that pit of vipers that I'm worried about."

"They won't do anything to me, not knowing that Nana Kareema and Papa Niles are our godparents." Sabine said, shrugging. "None of the families from Slytherin can afford a blood feud right now, not when they're preoccupied keeping their precious Dark Lord pacified."

"I still don't like it. And I don't like Zabini. He's sneaky."

"He's a Slytherin, of course he's sneaky. It's a prerequisite trait to get into that House." she said with a shrug. "In fact, I'm probably sure Parkinson is going to check up on us. She was asking me a lot of questions earlier, and they had absolutely nothing to do with phoenixes."

"You stuck to the story I hope?"

"Of course. The little snakes can check all they want to, all the falsified paperwork is on file at the Department of Magic. Mom took care of that before we left."

Gabe didn't say anything else about it, apparently satisfied knowing that all the bases had been covered as thoroughly as possible at this point. Sabine knew that her brother was the paranoid type who always expected the worse in any situation. And the simple fact that he was now stalking away from her without another word on the subject was proof enough that he was not the least bit happy about what she was doing.

'_He's going to go talk to mom about this.' _she thought glumly, gathering her robes and heading back towards the greenhouses to resume her aged appearance. Her position as an assistant to Pomfrey was not yielding any viable information, so if she was forced to jump between appearances to help find out what she could, she didn't mind. According to her mother, her body wasn't all that receptive to the aging potion anyway, so any break from it would be welcome.

She managed to make it to the greenhouse without being spotted, and quickly downed the small container of aging potion she had concealed in her robes. A few seconds later, and her reflection in the glass walls of the greenhouses showed the same auburn haired, middle aged witch she'd woken up as this morning. She used her wand to change the color of the robes to a standard black set and then headed back into the school…her mind trying to think up a valid argument for Ailric when he found out exactly what she had just done…if he found out.

* * *

Sable walked into her classroom that evening to find not only Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting there, but what looked like the majority of the upper classes of Hogwarts. Just scanning the room showed that there were at least twenty or so students already waiting for her. Someone, most likely Hermione, had pushed all the desks up against the wall to give them some more room. 

"Good evening, students." she said amicably, nodding to them as she walked to the front of the room. "Quite the turn out, I see."

"This isn't everyone." Hermione said. "A few didn't show up."

"Professor, we were just talking and well…" Harry began, only to look sheepishly back at the collected group of students behind him.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"We decided that the D.A. had served its purpose, and well, there was really no point in keeping it going." he said. "I thought about it after I talked to you yesterday. And since you let us practice the spells as we learn them, there's really no reason to hide what we're doing."

"Unless you suddenly turn into Umbridge or something." Ron said. Sable grinned and shook her head at them. She had been thinking about suggesting that Harry disband the secret society anyway, simply on the grounds that it was no longer needed, not to mention the fact that many of the elder students were also involved in various other school related activities like Quidditch.

"I can assure you all that should I suddenly turn into Dolores Umbridge, you have my permission to hex me into next week." Sable said, causing the students to chuckle. "Well, I came here hoping to find out what you lot were capable of. But since you have decided it is more prudent to let the D.A. go, I guess there is really no reason to keep you all here. Although I would like to see exactly how much you managed to learn last year, if there are a few who would be willing to stay behind and give a short demonstration." She saw a few of the students grin and nudge each other before quieting down once again when Hermione sent a stern look their way. Harry nodded at her, silently agreeing to her simple request.

For almost the next two hours, the remaining members of the D.A. tossed curses, hexes, and jinxes back and forth at each other. Sable got a good look at the abilities of each and everyone of them, taking note that even Neville seemed to be a bit stronger than she had anticipated. Ron had mentioned over the summer that Neville's best subject was Herbology, but watching Neville do a decent job of fending off Hermione's offensive spells caused a new amount of respect to bloom for the usually quiet boy.

It was almost curfew time, and Sable had to stop the friendly dueling to dismiss the meeting since she didn't want any of them to get caught wandering the halls after hours on her behalf.

"You done a wonderful job, Harry." Sable said, watching as the last of the old D.A. members walked out of her classroom five minutes later. "All of you have."

"So you don't think we were stupid to done it in the first place?" Ron asked, surprise evident on his face. Sable was about to question who had said they were stupid when she remembered what Remus had told her about Molly Weasley pitching a fit about Ron purposely going against Umbridge the year before.

"Necessity is the mother of all invention. You created the D.A. because you needed to practice your defensive spells when Umbridge refused to let you. Now that you no longer need answer to that old hag, the D.A. is not needed." she said simply.

"How many of those ridiculous decrees did we break last year anyway?" Ginny asked, slinging her bag on her shoulder.

"I quit counting after the eighth one." Harry admitted.

"Those things were utterly ridiculous." Hermione said, a frown on her face.

"Well, sometimes rules need to be broken before the truth can come out." Sable said, causing the four students to look up at her with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. "Well, it is the truth. You all realize that by now. The safest way is not always the correct way. And anything worth fighting for, is worth fighting dirty for." Sable said, looking Harry right in the eyes. "People's ethics are called into question all the time, no matter what the situation. But the fact is, the ones pointing the fingers at those of us who are willing to do what must be done for the greater good would probably do the same thing as us, should they ever be in a situation similar to our own."

"Boy, is that ever the truth." Ginny said, nodding her head. "Well, I'll see you lot later. Homework to do."

"Later, Ginny." Ron said, giving his little sister no more of a farewell. Harry nodded and Hermione waved the girl out of the classroom before heading to her own bag and putting away her books and parchment.

"Oh, Ms. Granger, I do believe you were waiting on these to arrive." Sable said, retrieving some texts that she had received via owl from Tonks earlier that day. "Ithink they may help point you in the right direction during your research of the Founders." Hermione walked over and took the half dozen thick tomes, almost staggering under their weight before Sable put a feather weight charm on them for her. "I read through a few passages, and found some information. But there are a few things that are only mentioned in passing you might want to look into a bit further. They are referenced in the footnotes of the chapters, so I'm sure you will find them easily enough."

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione said, smiling happily and looking all the world like Christmas had just come early. Sable watched as Ron rolled his eyes and motioned for Harry to head out the door with him.

"We'll see you later, Professor." Harry said, shouldering his own bag.

"Goodnight, children. And thank you."

"No problem." Ron called out as they walked out the classroom, shutting the door behind them. Sable waited until they were gone before putting the room back in order and grabbing a stack possible lesson plans to look over. She headed out of the classroom, walking down the hallway towards the suit of armor that guarded the entrance to her rooms.

Seeing how far along so many of the sixth and seventh years were made her feel much better, as she had expected Umbridge's interference to have severely hindered the student's performances. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case for the majority of them. As she walked into her lab, she saw Gabe ladling out measured amounts of a finished brew of Wolfsbane potion and pouring them in the phials lined along the countertop. He looked up as she walked in, and Sable once again thanked Merlin that her children knew her so well. Having them to help out over the years had proved to be helpful on more than one occasion, and now was no different.

She kicked her shoes off and sat down at her desk while Gabe worked quietly. It was already after ten, but she still had enough work to do to keep her up for another few hours.

'_Best get to work. It's not going to do itself.' _she thought, grabbing the stack of lesson plans and looking over them halfheartedly.

* * *

_**A/N **- I hope you are enjoying the story. And please remember to review, as I'd like to know what you are thinking._

_Until next time,_

_A.A._


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer **- Do I look like J.K. Rowling? I didn't think so. Therefore, with that conjecture, it is best to assume that I do not own the original characters of Harry Potter that are portrayed within this story. _

_

* * *

__Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts_

_Chapter 16_

_Down the Road of Life…_

_

* * *

_"Bloody hell, Hermione! She wants an essay. Not a life history on each one of the Founders!" Ron said, taking a good look at the piles of parchment and books that were almost hiding the teenage girl on the table as he and Harry walked into the library. Hermione just glanced up at them, quirked an eyebrow, and neglected to say anything. Harry and Ron sat down in the two chairs that weren't piled head high with dusty, leather covered tomes. Ron snickered when Hermione let an exasperated sigh escape, and he looked over at Harry with a smirk. "How much you want to bet she over does this one?" 

"I heard that, Ronald." Hermione muttered, glancing up at the gangly red-head for a split second before returning to work. "It would do you good to get started on this assignment so you're not rushing at the last minute."

"Professor Lee hasn't even assigned the paper yet." Ron reminded her. "We've got time."

"I've heard that one before." Ginny said, snickering. Harry silently agreed with Ginny's attitude. Knowing Ron, it would be the night before the essay was due, and he still wouldn't have it finished. The be-speckled boy glanced at the pile of books closest to Hermione, noting that they didn't have the same call numbers as the others surrounding them.

"These are the books Professor Lee lent you?" he asked, grabbing the nearest one and flipping it open to a random page.

"Yes. They have information that I haven't been able to find anywhere else." Hermione said absently. "I'm surprised she managed to get a copy of them, actually. A couple of them are first edition books that have not been reprinted in centuries." Harry nodded, not really paying all that much attention to the curly headed witch as she babbled on about the books.

**_The Founders of Hogwarts were the greatest and most powerful wizards and witches of their time. Each of them housed immense amounts of natural magic and talents. It is a well known fact that Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. But a fact that is less well known is that Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also possessed innate talents. Gryffindor was an Animagus, and took the form of a lion while under the influence of the spell. Helga Hufflepuff also had a talent that was based around Transfiguration. The Hufflepuff House founder was one of the first recorded Metamorphagus. Lastly, Ravenclaw was believed to have the blood of a true Seer running through her veins. However, there has been no concrete evidence to support this assumption._**

Harry reread the passage again, a bit surprised to find out that all of the Founders had such rare gifts. Of course, it shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise. After all, the Founders were considered the most powerful wizards and witches of their time. And even to the current day, Harry had never heard of anyone actually being compared to any of them. Granted, Voldemort may have been a direct descendent of Slytherin, but Harry had never heard their names compared side by side.

'_Something for him to strive for.' _Harry thought glumly, flipping to another page in the book.

'**_One of the many legends surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and consequently the land it was built on, is the placement of four treasures hidden by the Founders before their deaths. Each treasure is said to reside in the rooms that one time belonged to the Founders. However, the only mention of a possible chamber hidden within the school is the fictitious Chamber of Secrets that Slytherin supposedly built before leaving the school.'_**

"Fictitious?" Harry said, a scowl on his face. "This thing needs to be updated."

"Saw that part, did you?" Ginny asked. Harry looked up at the red-head and tried to calm down. "I read it too."

"Read what?" Ron asked.

"About the fictitious Chamber of Secrets." Harry said, shutting the book and piling it next to Hermione, who was still furiously scribbling on her parchment.

"Oh."

"You must remember that no one could find the Chamber for centuries." Hermione said absently.

"We didn't have much of a problem finding it." Ginny chimed in, a dead look on her face.

"No, of course not." Ron muttered. "It was just the dirty great snake that was in it that caused the problems."

"You don't think the other Founders left something like the basilisk where their quarters used to be, do you?" Harry asked, fingering another large tome.

"Unlikely. If they had, there would be a record of it. Or at least another legend." Hermione said, shuffling her papers. Harry nodded, thinking much along the same lines as his friend. Across from him, Ginny was staring out the window, an unreadable expression on her face. He had no doubts that she was replaying what had happened her first year, and how she had been used by the diary of Tom Riddle to open the so called _factitious _Chamber of Secrets. He also had no doubts that she still had nightmares about what had happened, and how she had been dragged down into the Chamber.

He still had nightmares about it. Luckily though, Ginny had been fine since that night she had woken up screaming at Haven's Hallow the week before school started. Hermione hadn't said anything about Ginny suffering from nightmares again, so everything seemed well on that front.

It was bad enough Voldemort wanted to prance around his head at ungodly hours of the day and night. There was no need for Ginny to suffer as well.

Harry began to pull his own notes and books from his pack, knowing that it would be prudent to get at least a little homework done before dinner time. It was five weeks into term, and it seemed like McGonagall had loaded them down with enough homework to last until Christmas. And he still had to get with the remaining Quidditch team members to hash out a possible practice schedule. The young man was about halfway through one of McGonagall's monstrous essays when a familiar face entered into the library and disappeared behind the shelves, only to reappear a few minutes later, Latin dictionary in hand. The blonde man spotted them easily and walked over, a grin on his face.

"Hello, ladies and gents." Mr. Robbins said cheerfully, tipping an imaginary hat to them. "What are you fine people doing this lovely evening?"

"Homework." Ron mumbled while simultaneously trying to peek over at Hermione's Transfiguration assignment.

"I hope you've finished Professor Flitwick's work already. It's due tomorrow, you know." the blonde man said.

"That's the only assignment they've finished this week." Hermione mumbled beneath her breath. Mr. Robbins looked down at her and grinned, taking a quick peek at what she was working on.

"The Founders?" he asked, reaching for the top page of Hermione's essay. "Is this for Dr. Lee?"

"Yes, sir."

"She hasn't even assigned this yet." Mr. Robbins mumbled. Ron snickered and Hermione flushes at hearing a teacher repeat Ron's words.

"I just wanted to get started early." the curly headed witch said.

"Well, good work, Ms. Granger. And good luck with your research. I'm sure Dr. Lee will be pleased with the results." he said.

"So what are you doing in here, Professor?" Ginny asked. "I thought Professor Flitwick had a class at this hour?"

"Ahh, I'm working on something for Dr. Lee, and needed a dictionary since I'm about as fluent in Latin as I am in Troll." he said, scratching his head embarrassingly.

"What is it?" Harry asked. Mr. Robbins looked hesitant to tell them, and Harry wondered if he was going to refuse to say anything at all. But the blonde man snagged a chair from a nearby table and sat down, tossing a small stack of parchments onto the table. The four teens at the table each grabbed one and unrolled it.

"Some excerpts from those journals Tonks managed to lift from 12 Grimmauld Place." he said quietly, not wanting to draw attention from the few other students scattered around the library. "Most of them are so old that we can't make a lick of sense out of them. Then some of them are written like riddles that seem nonsensical. And the ones that are left have Latin phrases thrown in the mix." Mr. Robbins leaned back in his seat and frowned. "Seems like this Draven Black character was a right mess in the head, if you know what I mean."

"Looks like it." Harry said, glancing over the parchment in his hand. The transcribed words were littered with phrases that he didn't recognize. "How many of these are…."

"These are name riddles." Hermione said suddenly, causing Mr. Robbins to glance over at her in surprise.

"Come again, Ms. Granger?" he asked.

"Name riddles." she repeated. She placed the parchment down on the table and pointing to a line about halfway down the scribbled notes. "'_She is the Sister of Fate, Doom, Sleep and Strife. With gnashing teeth and a thirst for blood, she watches over as men as they forfeit their life.'_ These are descriptions of people."

"Real people?" Ron asked.

"I doubt it. Unless whoever they are referring to was really ugly and hated their siblings." Mr. Robbins said.

"'_He who is a **craterous **of Minos, and the giver of justice in the island. He, the **brabeuta **of the underworld, who shall not die, and will be the one we stand before in **morte **before we are admitted to the Elysium.'_" Ginny read quietly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Minos was supposedly a king of Crete before the Trojan War." Hermione mumbled absently. "He had two brothers, Sarpedon and…. I can't remember the other one."

"How does she know this stuff?" Mr. Robbins asked, looking over at Ron and Harry with a completely perplexed look on his face.

"We've been trying to figure it out for years." Ron said, shaking his head.

"Do you mind if I keep this, Mr. Robbins?" Hermione asked, looking up at the man. The assistant Charms professor shrugged and used his wand to duplicate the parchment before handing one back to the girl.

"Have at it, Hermione. Good luck." he said genially. "If you do happen to figure it out, bring it to Dr. Lee."

"Okay." she said, nodding absently before looking over at Harry as if she'd just remembered something important. "I almost forgot. Harry, didn't you want to ask about starting up the Dueling Club again this year?"

"Yeah, I did." Harry said. The black headed boy looked at Mr. Robbins. "Do you think you could talk to Professor Flitwick about starting it up again?"

"When was the last time you had a Dueling Club?" Mr. Robbins asked.

"My first year. And it didn't last past one meeting." Ginny pointed out. Mr. Robbins seemed thoughtful, but nodded.

"I'll see what I can do about it, kiddies." he said, rising from his spot and gathering the parchments and dictionary he'd taken from the shelf. "Professor Flitwick shouldn't mind. And I can oversee it if he doesn't have the time."

"Dr. Lee has been letting us practice the spells we learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry said. "Some of those could come in handy if the Headmaster allows you to head the Dueling Club."

"Yes, she always did believe in a hands on approach to something like dueling. That old lady taught me more defensive charms that you would think." Mr. Robbins said ruefully.

"She taught you?"

"A little." Mr. Robbins said, grinning. "She also taught me some important rules."

"Rules? Dueling has rules?" Ron asked.

"Yep." Ailric said, giving them a broad wink. "There are two major rules in dueling. The first is that incoming fire always has the right of way."

"And the second?" Ginny asked, giving the older man a cheeky grin.

"Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them." Mr. Robbins replied, casting an evil look towards Madame Pince's desk, where Snape was dropping off two rather large books. The surly Potions professor's gaze landed squarely on them, and his usual scowl seemed to intensify ten fold before he turned and walked out the library.

"I'll agree with that." Ron muttered, seeing where his teacher's gaze had landed. "That old bat….."

"Anyhow, I'll be leaving you kiddies to your work. Gotta report back to Professor Flitwick for his next class." Mr. Robbins said, only to grimace. "Gotta teach the first years about levitation charms."

"Try not to blow anything up." Ron grinned.

"Duly noted, good sir." Mr. Robbins said cheerfully, waving them off as he walked towards Madame Pince's desk to check out the dictionary. Harry noticed that the beady eyed old librarian was giving the newest Hogwarts assistant professor her usual evil glare as she checked out the thick book.

"You think he'll be able to get Flitwick to okay the Dueling Club again?" Ginny asked, looking over at Harry.

"It couldn't hurt." Harry said, dragging his own books out of his bag to begin his homework. "Something tells me we're going to need all the practice we can get."

* * *

Sable had been sitting at her desk and pouring over the musty old journals lifted from 12 Grimmauld place for over an hour now, and with nothing to show for it. There were papers scattered all over her desktop. Most of them were half translated excerpts from the journals, and others were what seemed to be ancient incantations and potions lists that she was sure dated back to the time of the Founders. A translation dictionary was perched precariously on one corner of her desk, covered in crumbled balls of parchment that had somehow managed to congregate together in one general area. 

"Damn pain in my….."

"You really shouldn't use language like that." came a chiding voice to her left. Sable started, then glanced over and found a familiar face floating around in he flames of the fireplace. "It's not very lady like."

_"_Remus? That you?" she asked, getting up from her seat. It had been a few days since she'd received a letter from him, and almost two weeks since she'd actually seen him.

"Yeah. It's me."

"Where are you? You're not back from your trip already, are you?" she asked, kneeling down in front of the fireplace so she was face to face with him.

"I just got back a few hours ago, actually." he said sheepishly.

"Everything go alright? You're not hurt or anything are you?"

"I'm okay. And the mission went ass well as can be expected." he said with a shrug. "Are you busy?"

"No, not really." she said with a sigh. "I'm about to go cross-eyed, but other than that, I'm fine." Remus gave her a quizzical look, and she quickly went over the myriad of ridiculous rhymes and puzzles that were littered throughout Draven Black's journals. "I swear this guy had too much free time on his hands. Half of this junk doesn't make a lick of sense."

"I'm going to be in Hogsmeade tomorrow evening. Meet me at the Three Broomsticks and I'll see if there's anything I can do to help." the werewolf suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great. How's Harry been doing since I left?" Remus asked.

"He's okay. Been busy with the usual start of term work while trying to organize Quidditch practices." she said. The boy had been busy, especially with the weekly Occulemency lessons she had scheduled in addition to everything else. Harry still had a long way to go before he learned everything about keeping his mind defended, but he was progressing nicely…if a bit slower than she had hoped. But a little progress was better than no progress, right?

"Hey, mom! Your experimental goo is hissing and popping all over the place." came Ailric's petulant voice right before he stuck his head in the door and frowned at her. "You might want to get in here and do something with it before the whole room is filled with some kinda mutated green slime. Oh. Hi, Mr. Lupin."

"Hello, Ailric." Remus said cordially.

"On my way." she said, looking over her shoulder at him. Ailric was gearing up to say something else when there was a _thunk _and Gabe appeared in the doorway.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Gabe?" she asked.

"Should I section out the potion and get it ready to be sent to the Ministry and Department of Magic?" the other boy asked calmly after shoving Ailric out of the doorway.

"Just shut the fire off and move the cauldron to a coldwater bath." she said. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Yes, mother." Gabe said, then giving a nod to the floating Remus head in the fireplace. "Mr. Lupin."

"Gabe." Remus said, acknowledging the young man's presence with a nod and a small wave before the door was shut and he was gone. "Sounds like I need to let you go." Remus commented "New potion?"

"A new version of a Restoration Draught that I've been working on for a while." she admitted.

_'Mom! Sabine's trying to force this gunk down my throa….IIAAHHH!'_

"And to think they're supposed to be acting like mature adults." Sable said, shaking her head as she rose to her feet.

"They will grow into it." Remus said, only to cringe when there was a breaking of glass heard.

_'Will you two calm down!'_

"I better get in there before they really get started." she said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Remus. Take care."

"You too. Goodbye." he said.

"Bye."

_'MOOOM!'_

_'He started it!'_

"Merlin help me. I'm changing my name." she muttered, leaving her bedroom and heading into the lab. She quickly separated Ailric from his sister, who looked ready to spit nails at the blonde. "I don't know what you two are arguing about, but drop it."

The two teenagers-turned-adults grumbled, but did as their mother instructed. Ailric took his seat back at one of the bench tops, flipping through a thick book while sporadically scribbling on a piece of paper off to the side. Sabine scowled at her brother and stood against the wall with her arms folded. Sable didn't know what had gotten into them, especially since it was rare that the three of them fought about anything. Of course, being the as close knit as they were, she figured it would be a few hours and they would be back on speaking terms. The older woman swept over to Gabe, who had been cooling the newest concoction in a tub of cold water.

"How's it looking?" she asked, stirring the mixture a few times.

"Everything proceeded as planned." Gabe said calmly.

"Good. Maybe we'll actually get this one passed through the chair of potions…"

_'..none of your damned business what I'm doing, Ailric! You weren't even supposed to know!'_

_'How can I not know when it's going around the whole damned school, Sabine? He's a snake!'_

_'He's got the information we need to get for…'_

"What is wrong with the two of you?" Sable demanded, turning on her two children. "What in Merlin's name are you arguing about?"

"Nothing." Ailric said simply, grabbing his books and leaving the laboratory in a huff. Sable turned to her daughter, an expectant look on her face. But the itinerant teenager refused to say a thing, although she did cringe slightly when Ailric slammed the door to that lab as he walked out.

"Gabe?" Sable asked, turning to the last of her children in an attempt to get some answers.

"I'm not getting in it." he said simply, doling out the potion into some stoppered tubes. Sable frowned, figuring she could get the boy to crack and tell her what was going on if they were alone. Gabe, despite his outward appearance, never did like it when there was a fight between any of them. And he had a tendency to let things slip to her about the source of the problems when they were working together in the lab. Sable took the tubes of potion and packed them into two small, separate boxes. After tying them up and addressing one to the Department of Magic and the other to the Ministry, she called Sabine to her side and sent her off to the owlery with instructions to send them off.

"And stop by the greenhouses and see if Professor Sprout has any dried fluxweed. My stores are running low and I need some for a potion." The young girl just nodded and took the parcels, leaving out of the laboratory in a swirl of auburn curls that Sable still had yet to get used to seeing her wear. Gabe glanced over as she left and shook his head slightly before turning to his mother.

"What have they done now?" Sable asked calmly.

"She's getting awful friendly with Zabini. He's worried about her." Gabe said succinctly, gathering the used potions supplies and zapping then with a cleaning spell before levitating them back into their proper places.

"What did she do?" Sable asked, busying herself with the clean up process while waiting for an explanation. Gabe seemed a bit hesitant, but relayed what had happened while Sabine had been helping him with the Care of Magical Creatures.

"Considering his close association with Malfoy, it's disconcerting to have Sabine trying to weasel her way into Zabini's good graces." Gabe finished a few minutes later.

"I'll talk to her just as soon as she gets back here."

"Please do. And Ailric as well." Gabe replied as he shouldered his own bag and headed towards the entrance of the lab. "Because if he sees Zabini trying to get friendly with Sabine, we're going to be hard pressed to explain why Flitwick's assistant Professor decided to attack a student in broad daylight."

_

* * *

Sabine was in possibly one of the worse moods she had ever experienced. She had been right about Ailric's reaction when he found out that she had been stringing Zabini along during Gabe's class. He had blown his top. Of course, it didn't matter that she had tried to calmly explain that their mother had asked her to get some information out of the dark-haired boy if at all possible. Ailric was still mad about it, and still mad at her. _

_'That boy needs to learn how to calm down before he gives himself a heart attack!'_ she grumbled as she watched the owls fly off with the packages attached to their talons. '_I'm not doing anything wrong! What's he got to be so angry about? Mom knows good and well what I'm doing, and she doesn't have any problems with it.' _The irate young woman dusted her hands off and turned to leave the tower when she picked up the coldly aristocratic voice of Draco Malfoy, along with the sound of two sets of feet climbing the tower.

"_..don't know why you're doing this. "You'll be lucky if she even writes you back."_

_"It is none of your concern, Draco, who I am writing to." _

_"But the Tartavu girl? You're good Zabini, but she's out of your league." _

_'Zabini? Tartavu girl?' _Sabine thought, a bit surprised that they were talking about her. '_Well, well, wonder what's got blondie in such a pissed mood?' _She scanned the area, looking for a place where she could hide and eavesdrop until the two boys had come and gone. Spotting a little alcove off to the side, she slipped quietly into place, her back against the cool stone of the tower.

"So she is the real thing?" Zabini asked. Sabine could hear the footsteps stop, and the scuffle as one of them tied a letter to one of the owl's legs.

"Yeah. I sent a letter to mother about her. She's clean, and so is that brother of hers." Malfoy groused. "In fact, mother was having tea with Kareema Tartavu when my letter arrived at the manor."

"Well there goes your theory about them being fakes."

"That's beside the point. You're not gonna get anywhere with her, Zabini. Not only is she older than us by about three years, but she'll hardly ever be around here." Malfoy said coldly. "You'll be lucky if she even writes you back to thank you."

"I'm just sending her the dates for the Hogsmeade visits, like she asked. I'm not expecting her to send anything back." Zabini hissed, finally losing his patience with the other boy. "Lay off, would you?" Sabine grinned evilly when she heard a swish of wings take off from the perch. Looks like she'd be getting a letter by the end of the day.

"You've got it bad, Zabini." Malfoy snickered.

"You've got problems, Malfoy." he retorted icily as they began to descend the steps from the owelry. Sabine waited for a few minutes before she slid out of her hiding place behind the outcropping.

_'Well, at least something is going right.'_ she thought glumly. It seemed like her mother's and Shacklebolt's careful subterfuge with the Ministry's documents had been worth it since Malfoy's questioning hadn't turned up anything suspicious. '_She'll be glad to know all that paperwork we done wasn't a waste.' _

Sabine headed down the stairs towards the greenhouses, intent on getting the dried fluxweed and then heading back to her mother's lab so she could tell her what she'd overheard the two Slytherins saying. She walked into greenhouse 4 after spotting the portly Hufflepuff head through the glass enclosure, along with a dark headed student who she couldn't see entirely.

"Ms. Meadows, what can I do for you, dear?" Professor Sprout asked kindly as she walked in.

"Dr. Lee wanted to know if you happened to have some dried fluxweed she might have." Sabine explained. "She was running low and asked if I'd come check since she couldn't leave the potion she's working on unattended."

"I have just the thing. Hold on a minute and I'll get it for you, dear." the cheerful lady said, disappearing quickly into the thick wall of leaves and vines that made of the furthest wall of the greenhouse. Sabine glanced down at the quite boy who was up to his elbows in potting soil and little green seedlings.

"Mr. Longbottom, having a good day, I hope?" she asked, causing the boy to jump a little.

"Yes, ma'am." he answered.

"What have you got there?" she asked, looking at the small dividers he was transplanting. "I've never seen something like that. Is it a variation of henbane?"

"No, ma'am." he said, fingering the tender leaves carefully. "It…it's a hybrid plant that…that Professor Sprout and I have been working on."

"A hybrid?" Sabine asked, looking a bit more closely at the container. "Of what?"

"Nightshade and hellebore." he said proudly, a bit more at ease now that he was talking about something he was familiar with. Sabine furrowed her eyebrows, running through her mental catalogue of plants and their properties. Both nightshade and hellebore were deadly poisonous plants on their own, and not all that useful for potions because of the side effects that they caused even with the smallest amounts used.

"Have you had time to work out the properties yet? I'd like to see what…." she started, only to be interrupted by Professor Sprout coming back into the small greenhouse, little satchel of dried fluxweed in her hand.

"Here you are." the cheerful woman said, passing the satchel off to the auburn haired woman. "I hope that amount will be enough?"

"More than enough, Professor Sprout." Sabine said genially. "Thank you very much. Dr. Lee sends you her regards."

"Anytime, anytime." the Hufflepuff head said easily.

"I'll be going then. Thank you again, Professor. And good luck with your work on the hybrid plant. Mr. Longbottom was kind enough to show me your work so far. It seems promising."

"Yes, well, we're hoping it will." she said. "Not all that sure about the results, mind you. But Neville has a perchance for making even the most useless of things good for something. Don't you, Longbottom?"

"Umm..yes, ma'am?" he said, although it was more of a question than an answer.

"Well, good luck." Sabine said, giving them a quick wave as she headed back towards the castle. She had things left to do that evening for Madame Pomfrey, but first on her list of things to do was drop off the fluxweed to her mother and tell her about what she'd heard from Malfoy and Zabini. With any luck, maybe Gabe had done his usual job and explained to her what had caused the argument in the first place. _'And maybe that hot-headed jerk of a brother of mine has calmed down long enough for me to try and talk to him again.'_ she thought glumly. _'But knowing him, probably not.'

* * *

**A/N** - Hey to everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news. I am seriously thinking of discontinuing this story. I've pretty much lost all interest in it, to be truthful. And I hate turning out half-assed chapters that aren't worth the space to post them. I haven't made any final decisions about this story yet, but be aware that it might be taken down soon simply because of a lack of interest on my part. _

Later,

A.A.

- Hey to everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news. I am seriously thinking of discontinuing this story. I've pretty much lost all interest in it, to be truthful. And I hate turning out half-assed chapters that aren't worth the space to post them. I haven't made any final decisions about this story yet, but be aware that it might be taken down soon simply because of a lack of interest on my part. 


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